Will Pipes Freeze in Mesa County, CO? 44 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Mesa County
In a normal year Mesa County, CO gets 44 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 59% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 127 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 44 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 11 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 44 nights of risk to 11 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 10/20, last around 04/23. For 20°F: 11/22 to 03/02.
How cold Mesa County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, December: 11 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 25°F | 34°F | 40°F | 49°F | 59°F | 65°F | 63°F | 54°F | 41°F | 30°F | 20°F |
Mesa County next to its neighbours
Delta County, CO, 54 km east, gets 60 nights below 20°F to Mesa County's 44 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mesa County, CO | - | 127 nights | 44 nights | 19°F |
| Delta County, CO | 54 km east | 151 nights | 60 nights | 18°F |
| Montrose County, CO | 70 km south | 185 nights | 92 nights | 13°F |
| Garfield County, CO | 80 km northeast | 223 nights | 127 nights | 9°F |
| Grand County, UT | 96 km west | 126 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 108 km north | 204 nights | 104 nights | 8°F |
| San Miguel County, CO | 112 km south | 210 nights | 111 nights | 7°F |
Mesa County within CO
Mesa County ranks 64 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. At 4,978 ft, Mesa County sits 1,902 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.
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 Grand Junction (6 mi ESE), CO, 3 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.