Will Pipes Freeze in Middlesex County, MA? 60 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Middlesex County
In a normal year Middlesex County, MA gets 60 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 71% 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 | 143 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 60 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 22 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 60 nights of risk to 22 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 10/06, last around 05/02. For 20°F: 11/12 to 03/29.
How cold Middlesex County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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, March, December: 22 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 18°F | 26°F | 35°F | 46°F | 55°F | 61°F | 59°F | 51°F | 39°F | 30°F | 22°F |
Middlesex County next to its neighbours
Hillsborough County, NH, 55 km northwest, gets 72 nights below 20°F to Middlesex County's 60 nights. Suffolk County, MA, 35 km southeast, gets 30 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middlesex County, MA | - | 143 nights | 60 nights | 16°F |
| Suffolk County, MA | 35 km southeast | 94 nights | 30 nights | 23°F |
| Norfolk County, MA | 39 km southeast | 138 nights | 54 nights | 21°F |
| Essex County, MA | 47 km northeast | 130 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| Worcester County, MA | 49 km southwest | 137 nights | 58 nights | 16°F |
| Hillsborough County, NH | 55 km northwest | 161 nights | 72 nights | 14°F |
| Rockingham County, NH | 61 km northeast | 154 nights | 65 nights | 14°F |
Middlesex County within MA
Middlesex County ranks 4 of 14 MA counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Berkshire County, MA at 75 nights, with a 16°F average winter low. The fewest is Nantucket County, MA: 18 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 184 ft, Middlesex County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 153 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 Maynard 2, MA, 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.