Will Pipes Freeze in Laramie County, WY? 85 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Laramie County
In a normal year Laramie County, WY gets 85 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 85% 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 | 183 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 85 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 30 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 85 nights of risk to 30 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 09/24, last around 05/21. For 20°F: 10/21 to 04/19.
How cold Laramie County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, December, averages 16°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, April, October, November, December: 30 nights a year, and 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 17°F | 24°F | 29°F | 39°F | 48°F | 54°F | 52°F | 44°F | 32°F | 23°F | 16°F |
Laramie County next to its neighbours
Kimball County, NE, 81 km east, gets 91 nights below 20°F to Laramie County's 85 nights. Platte County, WY, 96 km north, gets 69 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laramie County, WY | - | 183 nights | 85 nights | 16°F |
| Kimball County, NE | 81 km east | 186 nights | 91 nights | 13°F |
| Banner County, NE | 83 km east | 183 nights | 88 nights | 15°F |
| Weld County, CO | 85 km south | 180 nights | 93 nights | 11°F |
| Goshen County, WY | 92 km north | 188 nights | 102 nights | 13°F |
| Platte County, WY | 96 km north | 154 nights | 69 nights | 17°F |
| Albany County, WY | 98 km northwest | 210 nights | 112 nights | 10°F |
Laramie County within WY
Laramie County ranks 21 of 23 WY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sublette County, WY at 165 nights, with a 1°F average winter low. The fewest is Platte County, WY: 69 nights, winter lows near 16°F. At 5,899 ft, Laramie County sits 602 ft above the state's median county elevation of 5,297 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 Archer, WY, 16 km away (close 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.