Will Pipes Freeze in Morgan County, CO? 86 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Morgan County
In a normal year Morgan County, CO gets 86 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 April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 171 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 86 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 33 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 11 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 86 nights of risk to 33 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 05/06. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/02.
How cold Morgan County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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, November, December: 33 nights a year, and 11 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 25°F | 33°F | 43°F | 53°F | 60°F | 57°F | 47°F | 34°F | 21°F | 13°F |
Morgan County next to its neighbours
Weld County, CO, 58 km northwest, gets 93 nights below 20°F to Morgan County's 86 nights. Washington County, CO, 61 km southeast, gets 74 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, CO | - | 171 nights | 86 nights | 13°F |
| Weld County, CO | 58 km northwest | 180 nights | 93 nights | 11°F |
| Washington County, CO | 61 km southeast | 164 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
| Adams County, CO | 62 km southwest | 168 nights | 76 nights | 16°F |
| Logan County, CO | 80 km northeast | 168 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
| Arapahoe County, CO | 82 km southwest | 169 nights | 75 nights | 16°F |
| Kimball County, NE | 104 km north | 186 nights | 91 nights | 13°F |
Morgan County within CO
Morgan County ranks 39 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 4,332 ft, Morgan County sits 2,548 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 Fort Morgan, CO, 5 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. What a "fair" or "distant" station match means is in the method guide.