Will Pipes Freeze in Mora County, NM? 85 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Mora County
In a normal year Mora County, NM gets 85 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 85% 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 | 185 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 85 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 26 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 85 nights of risk to 26 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 05/26. For 20°F: 10/22 to 04/21.
How cold Mora County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, 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: 26 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 23°F | 29°F | 37°F | 45°F | 50°F | 49°F | 42°F | 32°F | 23°F | 17°F |
Mora County next to its neighbours
San Miguel County, NM, 57 km south, gets 97 nights below 20°F to Mora County's 85 nights. Harding County, NM, 97 km east, gets 46 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mora County, NM | - | 185 nights | 85 nights | 16°F |
| San Miguel County, NM | 57 km south | 187 nights | 97 nights | 14°F |
| Colfax County, NM | 74 km north | 185 nights | 98 nights | 13°F |
| Taos County, NM | 92 km northwest | 203 nights | 108 nights | 9°F |
| Harding County, NM | 97 km east | 135 nights | 46 nights | 21°F |
| Santa Fe County, NM | 107 km southwest | 158 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
| Guadalupe County, NM | 124 km south | 117 nights | 33 nights | 24°F |
Mora County within NM
Mora County ranks 8 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 7,729 ft, Mora County sits 2,125 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Ocate (2 mi NW), NM, 26 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.