Will Pipes Freeze in Lincoln County, MT? 61 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lincoln County
In a normal year Lincoln County, MT gets 61 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 72% 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 | 193 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 61 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 24 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 61 nights of risk to 24 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.
How cold Lincoln County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°F overnight. 11 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Aug, 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: 24 nights a year, and 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 19°F | 25°F | 30°F | 38°F | 44°F | 48°F | 46°F | 39°F | 32°F | 26°F | 20°F |
Lincoln County next to its neighbours
Sanders County, MT, 91 km south, gets 81 nights below 20°F to Lincoln County's 61 nights. Boundary County, ID, 82 km west, gets 57 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, MT | - | 193 nights | 61 nights | 19°F |
| Boundary County, ID | 82 km west | 175 nights | 57 nights | 20°F |
| Bonner County, ID | 90 km west | 172 nights | 42 nights | 23°F |
| Sanders County, MT | 91 km south | 212 nights | 81 nights | 18°F |
| Flathead County, MT | 108 km east | 178 nights | 63 nights | 18°F |
| Pend Oreille County, WA | 130 km west | 175 nights | 43 nights | 23°F |
| Kootenai County, ID | 134 km southwest | 139 nights | 29 nights | 25°F |
Lincoln County within MT
Lincoln County ranks 54 of 56 MT counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sheridan County, MT at 129 nights, with a 2°F average winter low. The fewest is Lake County, MT: 40 nights, winter lows near 22°F. At 4,873 ft, Lincoln County sits 951 ft above the state's median county elevation of 3,922 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 Yaak (9 mi NNE), MT, 46 km away (distant 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.