Will Pipes Freeze in Kit Carson County, CO? 63 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Kit Carson County
In a normal year Kit Carson County, CO gets 63 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 73% 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 | 157 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 63 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 21 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 63 nights of risk to 21 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 10/09, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 11/04 to 04/05.
How cold Kit Carson County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°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: 21 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 20°F | 27°F | 34°F | 45°F | 55°F | 61°F | 59°F | 50°F | 37°F | 26°F | 19°F |
Kit Carson County next to its neighbours
Cheyenne County, CO, 52 km south, gets 95 nights below 20°F to Kit Carson County's 63 nights. Wallace County, KS, 83 km southeast, gets 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit Carson County, CO | - | 157 nights | 63 nights | 18°F |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 52 km south | 173 nights | 95 nights | 13°F |
| Sherman County, KS | 76 km east | 157 nights | 69 nights | 17°F |
| Yuma County, CO | 79 km north | 162 nights | 72 nights | 16°F |
| Wallace County, KS | 83 km southeast | 148 nights | 62 nights | 17°F |
| Lincoln County, CO | 85 km southwest | 185 nights | 99 nights | 13°F |
| Washington County, CO | 90 km northwest | 164 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
Kit Carson County within CO
Kit Carson County ranks 58 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 4,408 ft, Kit Carson County sits 2,472 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 Stratton, CO, 0 km away (close 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.