Will Pipes Freeze in Huerfano County, CO? 54 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Huerfano County
In a normal year Huerfano County, CO gets 54 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 67% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 142 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 54 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 17 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 54 nights of risk to 17 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 10/04, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 11/02 to 04/06.
How cold Huerfano County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, December, averages 21°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, November, December: 17 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21°F | 22°F | 27°F | 33°F | 42°F | 51°F | 57°F | 55°F | 48°F | 37°F | 28°F | 21°F |
Huerfano County next to its neighbours
Custer County, CO, 59 km northwest, gets 115 nights below 20°F to Huerfano County's 54 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huerfano County, CO | - | 142 nights | 54 nights | 21°F |
| Custer County, CO | 59 km northwest | 206 nights | 115 nights | 9°F |
| Costilla County, CO | 62 km southwest | 210 nights | 120 nights | 6°F |
| Pueblo County, CO | 67 km northeast | 158 nights | 76 nights | 16°F |
| Alamosa County, CO | 74 km west | 222 nights | 146 nights | 0°F |
| Las Animas County, CO | 91 km southeast | 156 nights | 64 nights | 19°F |
| Fremont County, CO | 95 km northwest | 183 nights | 92 nights | 13°F |
Huerfano County within CO
Huerfano County ranks 63 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 6,635 ft, Huerfano County sits 245 ft below 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Walsenburg (1 mi NW), CO, 16 km away (fair 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.