Will Pipes Freeze in Moffat County, CO? 118 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Moffat County
In a normal year Moffat County, CO gets 118 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 97% 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 | 211 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 118 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 63 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 30 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 118 nights of risk to 63 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 09/09, last around 06/16. For 20°F: 10/09 to 04/30.
How cold Moffat County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 7°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°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, October, November, December: 63 nights a year, and 30 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 10°F | 20°F | 27°F | 35°F | 42°F | 50°F | 48°F | 39°F | 27°F | 17°F | 6°F |
Moffat County next to its neighbours
Garfield County, CO, 115 km south, gets 127 nights below 20°F to Moffat County's 118 nights. Rio Blanco County, CO, 71 km south, gets 104 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moffat County, CO | - | 211 nights | 118 nights | 5°F |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 71 km south | 204 nights | 104 nights | 8°F |
| Routt County, CO | 105 km east | 213 nights | 116 nights | 6°F |
| Daggett County, UT | 113 km west | 191 nights | 97 nights | 13°F |
| Garfield County, CO | 115 km south | 223 nights | 127 nights | 9°F |
| Uintah County, UT | 123 km southwest | 174 nights | 96 nights | 5°F |
| Sweetwater County, WY | 129 km northwest | 192 nights | 95 nights | 13°F |
Moffat County within CO
Moffat County ranks 21 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. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 6,880 ft, Moffat County sits close to 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.
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 Maybell, CO, 15 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.