Will Pipes Freeze in McKinley County, NM? 109 nights a Year
Freeze nights in McKinley County
In a normal year McKinley County, NM gets 109 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 95% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to May, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 206 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 109 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 47 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 15 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 109 nights of risk to 47 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 05/29. For 20°F: 10/20 to 04/18.
How cold McKinley County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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, April, November, December: 47 nights a year, and 15 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 18°F | 23°F | 29°F | 36°F | 45°F | 52°F | 50°F | 43°F | 31°F | 21°F | 13°F |
McKinley County next to its neighbours
Cibola County, NM, 77 km south, gets 91 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McKinley County, NM | - | 206 nights | 109 nights | 13°F |
| Cibola County, NM | 77 km south | 193 nights | 91 nights | 14°F |
| San Juan County, NM | 103 km north | 141 nights | 48 nights | 20°F |
| Apache County, AZ | 114 km west | 158 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
| Sandoval County, NM | 124 km east | 173 nights | 72 nights | 17°F |
| Bernalillo County, NM | 155 km east | 125 nights | 41 nights | 22°F |
| Valencia County, NM | 163 km southeast | 149 nights | 63 nights | 19°F |
McKinley County within NM
McKinley County ranks 3 of 33 NM counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rio Arriba County, NM at 118 nights, with a 11°F average winter low. The fewest is Sierra County, NM: 6 nights, winter lows near 31°F. At 7,511 ft, McKinley County sits 1,906 ft above the state's median county elevation of 5,604 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 Thoreau (12 mi SE), NM, 33 km away (fair 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.