Will Pipes Freeze in Lake County, OR? 58 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lake County
In a normal year Lake County, OR gets 58 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 70% 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 | 170 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 58 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 14 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 58 nights of risk to 14 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 09/14, last around 06/06. For 20°F: 10/22 to 04/06.
How cold Lake County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, December, averages 21°F overnight. 10 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, November, December: 14 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22°F | 24°F | 27°F | 30°F | 38°F | 43°F | 49°F | 47°F | 40°F | 31°F | 25°F | 21°F |
Lake County next to its neighbours
Klamath County, OR, 103 km west, gets 73 nights below 20°F to Lake County's 58 nights. Jackson County, OR, 192 km west, gets 8 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, OR | - | 170 nights | 58 nights | 22°F |
| Klamath County, OR | 103 km west | 222 nights | 73 nights | 18°F |
| Harney County, OR | 118 km east | 192 nights | 67 nights | 19°F |
| Modoc County, CA | 136 km south | 198 nights | 70 nights | 21°F |
| Deschutes County, OR | 142 km northwest | 216 nights | 68 nights | 21°F |
| Crook County, OR | 153 km north | 186 nights | 60 nights | 23°F |
| Jackson County, OR | 192 km west | 103 nights | 8 nights | 31°F |
Lake County within OR
Lake County ranks 8 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 5,208 ft, Lake County sits 3,191 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.
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 Paisley, OR, 16 km away (fair 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.