Will Pipes Freeze in Klamath County, OR? 73 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Klamath County
In a normal year Klamath County, OR gets 73 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 78% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs September to May, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 222 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 73 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 19 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 73 nights of risk to 19 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 Klamath County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, December, averages 18°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, November, December: 19 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 21°F | 24°F | 27°F | 33°F | 37°F | 42°F | 41°F | 34°F | 27°F | 23°F | 18°F |
Klamath County next to its neighbours
Jackson County, OR, 90 km west, gets 8 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klamath County, OR | - | 222 nights | 73 nights | 18°F |
| Jackson County, OR | 90 km west | 103 nights | 8 nights | 31°F |
| Lake County, OR | 103 km east | 170 nights | 58 nights | 22°F |
| Douglas County, OR | 140 km northwest | 57 nights | 2 nights | 35°F |
| Deschutes County, OR | 141 km north | 216 nights | 68 nights | 21°F |
| Siskiyou County, CA | 142 km southwest | 139 nights | 26 nights | 27°F |
| Modoc County, CA | 143 km southeast | 198 nights | 70 nights | 21°F |
Klamath County within OR
Klamath County ranks 2 of 36 OR counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Baker County, OR at 76 nights, with a 20°F average winter low. The fewest is Lincoln County, OR: under 1 night, winter lows near 40°F. At 4,804 ft, Klamath County sits 2,787 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,017 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 Chiloquin (fort Klamath) (12 mi NW), OR, 29 km away (fair 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.