Will Pipes Freeze in Grand County, CO? 154 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Grand County
In a normal year Grand County, CO gets 154 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 99% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs September to May, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 265 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 154 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 90 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 47 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 154 nights of risk to 90 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 09/07, last around 06/13. For 20°F: 10/17 to 04/30.
How cold Grand County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 4°F; the coldest month, January, averages 2°F overnight. 12 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, 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: 90 nights a year, and 47 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2°F | 4°F | 13°F | 21°F | 29°F | 35°F | 41°F | 39°F | 32°F | 24°F | 14°F | 4°F |
Grand County next to its neighbours
Summit County, CO, 55 km south, gets 177 nights below 20°F to Grand County's 154 nights. Gilpin County, CO, 57 km southeast, gets 126 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand County, CO | - | 265 nights | 154 nights | 2°F |
| Summit County, CO | 55 km south | 264 nights | 177 nights | 4°F |
| Gilpin County, CO | 57 km southeast | 235 nights | 126 nights | 13°F |
| Clear Creek County, CO | 60 km southeast | 234 nights | 136 nights | 12°F |
| Boulder County, CO | 61 km east | 200 nights | 86 nights | 16°F |
| Jackson County, CO | 64 km north | 257 nights | 145 nights | 3°F |
| Eagle County, CO | 74 km southwest | 247 nights | 141 nights | 6°F |
Grand County within CO
Grand County ranks 8 of 64 CO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Summit County, CO at 177 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 8,606 ft, Grand County sits 1,726 ft above the state's median county elevation of 6,880 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 Grand Lake (6 mi SSW), CO, 22 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.