Will Pipes Freeze in Franklin County, ME? 116 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Franklin County
In a normal year Franklin County, ME gets 116 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 97% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 199 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 116 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 75 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 43 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 116 nights of risk to 75 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 09/24, last around 05/23. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/18.
How cold Franklin County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 5°F; the coldest month, January, averages 2°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, April, November, December: 75 nights a year, and 43 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2°F | 2°F | 11°F | 25°F | 37°F | 48°F | 53°F | 51°F | 43°F | 33°F | 23°F | 11°F |
Franklin County next to its neighbours
Oxford County, ME, 59 km southwest, gets 95 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, ME | - | 199 nights | 116 nights | 2°F |
| Oxford County, ME | 59 km southwest | 179 nights | 95 nights | 6°F |
| Somerset County, ME | 69 km northeast | 192 nights | 113 nights | 1°F |
| Coos County, NH | 78 km southwest | 195 nights | 110 nights | 3°F |
| Kennebec County, ME | 81 km southeast | 151 nights | 76 nights | 11°F |
| Androscoggin County, ME | 91 km south | 147 nights | 72 nights | 11°F |
| Essex County, VT | 108 km west | 188 nights | 106 nights | 2°F |
Franklin County within ME
Franklin County ranks 1 of 16 ME counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Knox County, ME: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 2,012 ft, Franklin County sits 1,715 ft above the state's median county elevation of 298 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Rangeley (2 mi NW), ME, 20 km away (fair match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.