Will Pipes Freeze in Hill County, MT? 101 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Hill County
In a normal year Hill County, MT gets 101 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 92% 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 | 186 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 101 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 58 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 33 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 101 nights of risk to 58 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 09/15, last around 05/24. For 20°F: 10/14 to 04/20.
How cold Hill County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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: 58 nights a year, and 33 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 9°F | 19°F | 29°F | 39°F | 47°F | 52°F | 50°F | 41°F | 30°F | 18°F | 9°F |
Hill County next to its neighbours
Liberty County, MT, 69 km west, gets 114 nights below 20°F to Hill County's 101 nights. Chouteau County, MT, 86 km south, gets 97 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hill County, MT | - | 186 nights | 101 nights | 6°F |
| Liberty County, MT | 69 km west | 197 nights | 114 nights | 4°F |
| Chouteau County, MT | 86 km south | 182 nights | 97 nights | 8°F |
| Blaine County, MT | 87 km east | 196 nights | 110 nights | 6°F |
| Toole County, MT | 120 km west | 194 nights | 109 nights | 7°F |
| Pondera County, MT | 162 km west | 173 nights | 82 nights | 13°F |
| Phillips County, MT | 166 km east | 178 nights | 101 nights | 6°F |
Hill County within MT
Hill County ranks 21 of 56 MT counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sheridan County, MT at 129 nights, with a 2°F average winter low. The fewest is Lake County, MT: 40 nights, winter lows near 22°F. At 2,720 ft, Hill County sits 1,202 ft below the state's median county elevation of 3,922 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 Gildford, MT, 16 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.