Will Pipes Freeze in Glacier County, MT? 85 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Glacier County
In a normal year Glacier County, MT gets 85 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 85% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to May, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 189 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 85 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 48 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 25 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 85 nights of risk to 48 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 09/16, last around 05/28. For 20°F: 10/15 to 04/21.
How cold Glacier County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°F overnight. 11 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, October, November, December: 48 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 14°F | 19°F | 27°F | 35°F | 42°F | 47°F | 45°F | 39°F | 31°F | 22°F | 15°F |
Glacier County next to its neighbours
Toole County, MT, 93 km east, gets 109 nights below 20°F to Glacier County's 85 nights. Pondera County, MT, 78 km southeast, gets 82 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glacier County, MT | - | 189 nights | 85 nights | 13°F |
| Pondera County, MT | 78 km southeast | 173 nights | 82 nights | 13°F |
| Flathead County, MT | 91 km southwest | 178 nights | 63 nights | 18°F |
| Toole County, MT | 93 km east | 194 nights | 109 nights | 7°F |
| Teton County, MT | 112 km southeast | 177 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Lake County, MT | 143 km southwest | 145 nights | 40 nights | 22°F |
| Liberty County, MT | 144 km east | 197 nights | 114 nights | 4°F |
Glacier County within MT
Glacier County ranks 41 of 56 MT counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sheridan County, MT at 129 nights, with a 2°F average winter low. The fewest is Lake County, MT: 40 nights, winter lows near 22°F. At 4,365 ft, Glacier County sits 442 ft above the state's median county elevation of 3,922 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 Del Bonita, MT, 36 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.