Will Pipes Freeze in Mountrail County, ND? 127 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Mountrail County
In a normal year Mountrail County, ND gets 127 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 99% 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 | 202 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 127 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 78 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 49 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 127 nights of risk to 78 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: 10/20 to 04/17.
How cold Mountrail County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 3°F; the coldest month, January, averages 0°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: 78 nights a year, and 49 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0°F | 3°F | 14°F | 27°F | 39°F | 49°F | 54°F | 52°F | 42°F | 30°F | 17°F | 5°F |
Mountrail County next to its neighbours
Burke County, ND, 65 km north, gets 131 nights below 20°F to Mountrail County's 127 nights. Ward County, ND, 61 km east, gets 113 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountrail County, ND | - | 202 nights | 127 nights | 0°F |
| Ward County, ND | 61 km east | 184 nights | 113 nights | 2°F |
| Burke County, ND | 65 km north | 203 nights | 131 nights | -2°F |
| Renville County, ND | 76 km northeast | 196 nights | 125 nights | -1°F |
| Williams County, ND | 86 km west | 187 nights | 113 nights | 2°F |
| McKenzie County, ND | 93 km southwest | 193 nights | 115 nights | 5°F |
| McLean County, ND | 94 km southeast | 192 nights | 119 nights | 2°F |
Mountrail County within ND
Mountrail County ranks 7 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 2,281 ft, Mountrail County sits 548 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.
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 Stanley (3 mi NNW), ND, 17 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.