Will Pipes Freeze in Gunnison County, CO? 166 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Gunnison County
In a normal year Gunnison County, CO gets 166 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 100% 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 | 259 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 166 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 111 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 73 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 166 nights of risk to 111 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.
How cold Gunnison County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: -4°F; the coldest month, January, averages -7°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: 111 nights a year, and 73 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -7°F | -2°F | 8°F | 20°F | 29°F | 35°F | 41°F | 40°F | 33°F | 23°F | 11°F | -4°F |
Gunnison County next to its neighbours
Hinsdale County, CO, 100 km south, gets 167 nights below 20°F to Gunnison County's 166 nights. Pitkin County, CO, 62 km north, gets 119 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunnison County, CO | - | 259 nights | 166 nights | -7°F |
| Pitkin County, CO | 62 km north | 213 nights | 119 nights | 9°F |
| Chaffee County, CO | 66 km east | 256 nights | 156 nights | 0°F |
| Delta County, CO | 73 km west | 151 nights | 60 nights | 18°F |
| Lake County, CO | 85 km northeast | 259 nights | 156 nights | 4°F |
| Ouray County, CO | 86 km southwest | 215 nights | 114 nights | 8°F |
| Hinsdale County, CO | 100 km south | 263 nights | 167 nights | -2°F |
Gunnison County within CO
Gunnison County ranks 5 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 10,336 ft, Gunnison County sits 3,456 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.
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 Crested Butte, CO, 24 km away (distant match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.