Will Pipes Freeze in Morton County, ND? 116 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Morton County
In a normal year Morton County, ND gets 116 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 April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 191 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 116 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 68 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 38 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 116 nights of risk to 68 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 09/21, last around 05/17. For 20°F: 10/18 to 04/19.
How cold Morton County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 6°F; the coldest month, January, averages 3°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, October, November, December: 68 nights a year, and 38 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3°F | 7°F | 18°F | 29°F | 41°F | 51°F | 56°F | 54°F | 45°F | 32°F | 18°F | 7°F |
Morton County next to its neighbours
Oliver County, ND, 45 km north, gets 117 nights below 20°F to Morton County's 116 nights. Grant County, ND, 47 km southwest, gets 113 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morton County, ND | - | 191 nights | 116 nights | 3°F |
| Oliver County, ND | 45 km north | 191 nights | 117 nights | 4°F |
| Grant County, ND | 47 km southwest | 188 nights | 113 nights | 4°F |
| Sioux County, ND | 69 km south | 183 nights | 108 nights | 5°F |
| Burleigh County, ND | 71 km northeast | 183 nights | 111 nights | 3°F |
| Mercer County, ND | 77 km northwest | 191 nights | 113 nights | 3°F |
| Hettinger County, ND | 93 km west | 194 nights | 115 nights | 4°F |
Morton County within ND
Morton County ranks 27 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rolette County, ND at 137 nights, with a -3°F average winter low. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 2,204 ft, Morton County sits 471 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,733 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 Almont, ND, 15 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.