Will Pipes Freeze in Grant County, ND? 113 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Grant County
In a normal year Grant County, ND gets 113 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 96% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 188 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 113 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 67 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 39 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 113 nights of risk to 67 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 09/25, last around 05/19. For 20°F: 10/19 to 04/24.
How cold Grant County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 7°F; the coldest month, January, averages 4°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, March, April, October, November, December: 67 nights a year, and 39 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4°F | 8°F | 18°F | 28°F | 40°F | 51°F | 57°F | 54°F | 45°F | 31°F | 19°F | 8°F |
Grant County next to its neighbours
Morton County, ND, 47 km northeast, gets 116 nights below 20°F to Grant County's 113 nights. Sioux County, ND, 52 km southeast, gets 108 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant County, ND | - | 188 nights | 113 nights | 4°F |
| Morton County, ND | 47 km northeast | 191 nights | 116 nights | 3°F |
| Sioux County, ND | 52 km southeast | 183 nights | 108 nights | 5°F |
| Hettinger County, ND | 63 km west | 194 nights | 115 nights | 4°F |
| Adams County, ND | 75 km southwest | 199 nights | 118 nights | 5°F |
| Corson County, SD | 83 km southeast | 177 nights | 101 nights | 6°F |
| Oliver County, ND | 88 km north | 191 nights | 117 nights | 4°F |
Grant County within ND
Grant County ranks 38 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rolette County, ND at 137 nights, with a -3°F average winter low. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 2,345 ft, Grant County sits 612 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,733 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 Carson, ND, 9 km away (close 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.