Will Pipes Freeze in Malheur County, OR? 68 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Malheur County
In a normal year Malheur County, OR gets 68 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 76% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to May, worst in December.
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 | 68 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 18 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 3 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 68 nights of risk to 18 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 05/29. For 20°F: 10/23 to 04/09.
How cold Malheur County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, December, averages 19°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: 18 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 23°F | 27°F | 31°F | 38°F | 44°F | 51°F | 49°F | 40°F | 31°F | 24°F | 19°F |
Malheur County next to its neighbours
Canyon County, ID, 87 km northeast, gets 27 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malheur County, OR | - | 181 nights | 68 nights | 20°F |
| Canyon County, ID | 87 km northeast | 117 nights | 27 nights | 24°F |
| Harney County, OR | 113 km west | 192 nights | 67 nights | 19°F |
| Payette County, ID | 114 km northeast | 138 nights | 35 nights | 23°F |
| Ada County, ID | 114 km east | 117 nights | 29 nights | 26°F |
| Owyhee County, ID | 134 km southeast | 166 nights | 56 nights | 21°F |
| Gem County, ID | 137 km northeast | 157 nights | 51 nights | 20°F |
Malheur County within OR
Malheur County ranks 4 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 3,943 ft, Malheur County sits 1,926 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 Rockville (5 mi N), OR, 44 km away (fair 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.