Will Pipes Freeze in Gooding County, ID? 46 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Gooding County
In a normal year Gooding County, ID gets 46 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 61% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 148 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 46 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 12 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 46 nights of risk to 12 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 10/01, last around 05/03. For 20°F: 11/10 to 03/09.
How cold Gooding County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 23°F; the coldest month, January, averages 22°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, November, December: 12 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22°F | 25°F | 31°F | 36°F | 45°F | 52°F | 59°F | 56°F | 48°F | 37°F | 29°F | 23°F |
Gooding County next to its neighbours
Lincoln County, ID, 54 km east, gets 77 nights below 20°F to Gooding County's 46 nights. Twin Falls County, ID, 70 km south, gets 41 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gooding County, ID | - | 148 nights | 46 nights | 22°F |
| Lincoln County, ID | 54 km east | 181 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
| Jerome County, ID | 55 km southeast | 152 nights | 47 nights | 21°F |
| Camas County, ID | 59 km north | 233 nights | 126 nights | 8°F |
| Twin Falls County, ID | 70 km south | 142 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
| Elmore County, ID | 71 km northwest | 211 nights | 106 nights | 10°F |
| Blaine County, ID | 84 km northeast | 193 nights | 101 nights | 9°F |
Gooding County within ID
Gooding County ranks 34 of 44 ID counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Custer County, ID at 145 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Nez Perce County, ID: 20 nights, winter lows near 27°F. At 3,531 ft, Gooding County sits 1,115 ft below the state's median county elevation of 4,646 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 Hagerman (2 mi SW), ID, 20 km away (fair 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.