Will Pipes Freeze in Mineral County, MT? 60 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Mineral County
In a normal year Mineral County, MT 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 October to May, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 185 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 60 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 15 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 60 nights of risk to 15 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 09/23, last around 05/17. For 20°F: 11/05 to 03/22.
How cold Mineral County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, December, averages 20°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: 15 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21°F | 21°F | 25°F | 30°F | 38°F | 44°F | 50°F | 49°F | 42°F | 33°F | 26°F | 20°F |
Mineral County next to its neighbours
Sanders County, MT, 70 km north, gets 81 nights below 20°F to Mineral County's 60 nights. Shoshone County, ID, 65 km west, gets 50 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mineral County, MT | - | 185 nights | 60 nights | 21°F |
| Shoshone County, ID | 65 km west | 172 nights | 50 nights | 22°F |
| Clearwater County, ID | 67 km southwest | 209 nights | 55 nights | 19°F |
| Sanders County, MT | 70 km north | 212 nights | 81 nights | 18°F |
| Missoula County, MT | 91 km east | 189 nights | 72 nights | 16°F |
| Lake County, MT | 95 km northeast | 145 nights | 40 nights | 22°F |
| Benewah County, ID | 117 km west | 151 nights | 32 nights | 24°F |
Mineral County within MT
Mineral County ranks 55 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 4,933 ft, Mineral County sits 1,011 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Superior, MT, 16 km away (distant 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.