Will Pipes Freeze in Garrett County, MD? 57 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Garrett County
In a normal year Garrett County, MD gets 57 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 70% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 143 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 57 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 57 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 10/09, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 11/10 to 03/31.
How cold Garrett County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, 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 | 36°F | 46°F | 54°F | 59°F | 57°F | 50°F | 39°F | 30°F | 23°F |
Garrett County next to its neighbours
Somerset County, PA, 53 km northeast, gets 67 nights below 20°F to Garrett County's 57 nights. Mineral County, WV, 32 km southeast, gets 41 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrett County, MD | - | 143 nights | 57 nights | 18°F |
| Mineral County, WV | 32 km southeast | 128 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
| Preston County, WV | 35 km west | 137 nights | 49 nights | 19°F |
| Allegany County, MD | 50 km east | 114 nights | 33 nights | 22°F |
| Grant County, WV | 50 km south | 139 nights | 50 nights | 21°F |
| Fayette County, PA | 52 km northwest | 138 nights | 54 nights | 17°F |
| Somerset County, PA | 53 km northeast | 148 nights | 67 nights | 16°F |
Garrett County within MD
Garrett County ranks 1 of 24 MD counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Baltimore city, MD: 10 nights, winter lows near 32°F. At 2,692 ft, Garrett County sits 2,554 ft above the state's median county elevation of 138 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 Oakland (1 mi SE), MD, 18 km away (fair match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.