Will Pipes Freeze in Grand County, UT? 49 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Grand County
In a normal year Grand County, UT gets 49 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 63% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to March, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 126 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 49 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 49 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 10/20, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 11/15 to 03/02.
How cold Grand County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, December: 12 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 25°F | 33°F | 40°F | 49°F | 59°F | 66°F | 64°F | 55°F | 41°F | 29°F | 19°F |
Grand County next to its neighbours
Emery County, UT, 99 km west, gets 85 nights below 20°F to Grand County's 49 nights. Mesa County, CO, 96 km east, gets 44 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand County, UT | - | 126 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| Mesa County, CO | 96 km east | 127 nights | 44 nights | 19°F |
| Emery County, UT | 99 km west | 171 nights | 85 nights | 13°F |
| Carbon County, UT | 117 km northwest | 146 nights | 52 nights | 20°F |
| Uintah County, UT | 128 km north | 174 nights | 96 nights | 5°F |
| Montrose County, CO | 130 km southeast | 185 nights | 92 nights | 13°F |
| San Miguel County, CO | 147 km southeast | 210 nights | 111 nights | 7°F |
Grand County within UT
Grand County ranks 25 of 29 UT counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rich County, UT at 138 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Salt Lake County, UT: 22 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 4,892 ft, Grand County sits 915 ft below the state's median county elevation of 5,807 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Moab Canyonland Airport, UT, 29 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.