Will Pipes Freeze in Lincoln County, CO? 99 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lincoln County
In a normal year Lincoln County, CO gets 99 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 91% 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 | 185 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 99 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 36 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 10 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 99 nights of risk to 36 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 10/02, last around 05/10. For 20°F: 10/24 to 04/09.
How cold Lincoln County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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, October, November, December: 36 nights a year, and 10 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 23°F | 30°F | 40°F | 50°F | 56°F | 54°F | 45°F | 32°F | 21°F | 13°F |
Lincoln County next to its neighbours
Elbert County, CO, 63 km northwest, gets 93 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, CO | - | 185 nights | 99 nights | 13°F |
| Elbert County, CO | 63 km northwest | 182 nights | 93 nights | 14°F |
| Crowley County, CO | 80 km south | 171 nights | 94 nights | 13°F |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 80 km east | 173 nights | 95 nights | 13°F |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 85 km northeast | 157 nights | 63 nights | 18°F |
| El Paso County, CO | 90 km west | 164 nights | 74 nights | 17°F |
| Kiowa County, CO | 94 km southeast | 155 nights | 73 nights | 16°F |
Lincoln County within CO
Lincoln County ranks 30 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 5,175 ft, Lincoln County sits 1,705 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.
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 Hugo (1 mi NW), CO, 17 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.