Will Pipes Freeze in Lincoln County, ID? 77 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lincoln County
In a normal year Lincoln County, ID gets 77 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 81% 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 | 181 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 77 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 29 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 77 nights of risk to 29 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 09/26, last around 05/24. For 20°F: 10/30 to 04/05.
How cold Lincoln County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 15°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, March, November, December: 29 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15°F | 19°F | 26°F | 31°F | 40°F | 47°F | 54°F | 53°F | 44°F | 33°F | 24°F | 16°F |
Lincoln County next to its neighbours
Blaine County, ID, 48 km north, gets 101 nights below 20°F to Lincoln County's 77 nights. Jerome County, ID, 34 km south, gets 47 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, ID | - | 181 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
| Jerome County, ID | 34 km south | 152 nights | 47 nights | 21°F |
| Minidoka County, ID | 44 km east | 160 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
| Blaine County, ID | 48 km north | 193 nights | 101 nights | 9°F |
| Gooding County, ID | 54 km west | 148 nights | 46 nights | 22°F |
| Camas County, ID | 76 km northwest | 233 nights | 126 nights | 8°F |
| Twin Falls County, ID | 82 km southwest | 142 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
Lincoln County within ID
Lincoln County ranks 19 of 44 ID counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Custer County, ID at 145 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Nez Perce County, ID: 20 nights, winter lows near 27°F. At 4,260 ft, Lincoln County sits 387 ft below the state's median county elevation of 4,646 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 Richfield, ID, 7 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.