Will Pipes Freeze in Knox County, ME? 55 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Knox County
In a normal year Knox County, ME gets 55 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 68% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 133 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 55 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 22 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 55 nights of risk to 22 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 10/25, last around 04/27. For 20°F: 11/29 to 03/23.
How cold Knox County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 22 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 17°F | 24°F | 34°F | 43°F | 51°F | 57°F | 57°F | 51°F | 42°F | 33°F | 23°F |
Knox County next to its neighbours
Lincoln County, ME, 38 km west, gets 65 nights below 20°F to Knox County's 55 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County, ME | - | 133 nights | 55 nights | 16°F |
| Lincoln County, ME | 38 km west | 146 nights | 65 nights | 14°F |
| Waldo County, ME | 49 km north | 158 nights | 76 nights | 11°F |
| Sagadahoc County, ME | 66 km west | 158 nights | 77 nights | 11°F |
| Kennebec County, ME | 71 km northwest | 151 nights | 76 nights | 11°F |
| Hancock County, ME | 79 km northeast | 160 nights | 75 nights | 11°F |
| Androscoggin County, ME | 94 km west | 147 nights | 72 nights | 11°F |
Knox County within ME
Knox County ranks 16 of 16 ME counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Franklin County, ME at 116 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. At 28 ft, Knox County sits 270 ft below the state's median county elevation of 298 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 Tenants Harbor, ME, 15 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.