Will Pipes Freeze in Ferry County, WA? 62 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ferry County
In a normal year Ferry County, WA gets 62 nights at or below 20°F, the point where bare pipes in a garage, attic or outside wall start to freeze. That is more than 73% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 175 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 62 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 20 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 62 nights of risk to 20 nights. A 12 ft heat-tape kit runs $17 to $37; an average burst-pipe repair is about $500.
Month by month
Nights at or below 20°F in a normal year.
First 32°F night is usually around 09/10, last around 05/30. For 20°F: 10/18 to 04/06.
How cold Ferry County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 20 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 19°F | 26°F | 32°F | 39°F | 45°F | 50°F | 49°F | 41°F | 32°F | 25°F | 18°F |
Ferry County next to its neighbours
Stevens County, WA, 51 km east, gets 44 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferry County, WA | - | 175 nights | 62 nights | 18°F |
| Stevens County, WA | 51 km east | 159 nights | 44 nights | 21°F |
| Okanogan County, WA | 89 km west | 166 nights | 57 nights | 18°F |
| Pend Oreille County, WA | 96 km east | 175 nights | 43 nights | 23°F |
| Lincoln County, WA | 99 km south | 169 nights | 46 nights | 21°F |
| Douglas County, WA | 119 km southwest | 142 nights | 45 nights | 19°F |
| Spokane County, WA | 127 km southeast | 135 nights | 31 nights | 25°F |
Ferry County within WA
Ferry County ranks 1 of 39 WA counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Island County, WA: 1 night, winter lows near 37°F. At 4,587 ft, Ferry County sits 2,968 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,620 ft.
What to do here
- Treat it as a building fix, not a night-of routine: insulate, heat tape, seal crawlspace vents.
- An automatic leak shutoff pays for itself if one burst is avoided.
- Know where the main shutoff is before the first hard freeze.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Republic, WA, 24 km away (distant match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. What a "fair" or "distant" station match means is in the method guide.