Will Pipes Freeze in Ouray County, CO? 114 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ouray County
In a normal year Ouray County, CO gets 114 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 | 215 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 114 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 52 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 20 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 114 nights of risk to 52 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 09/13, last around 06/11. For 20°F: 10/13 to 04/23.
How cold Ouray County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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, October, November, December: 52 nights a year, and 20 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 13°F | 21°F | 27°F | 34°F | 41°F | 48°F | 46°F | 38°F | 27°F | 18°F | 9°F |
Ouray County next to its neighbours
San Juan County, CO, 43 km south, gets 170 nights below 20°F to Ouray County's 114 nights. Montrose County, CO, 50 km northwest, gets 92 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ouray County, CO | - | 215 nights | 114 nights | 8°F |
| San Juan County, CO | 43 km south | 268 nights | 170 nights | -5°F |
| Montrose County, CO | 50 km northwest | 185 nights | 92 nights | 13°F |
| Hinsdale County, CO | 52 km southeast | 263 nights | 167 nights | -2°F |
| San Miguel County, CO | 58 km west | 210 nights | 111 nights | 7°F |
| Dolores County, CO | 78 km southwest | 164 nights | 70 nights | 17°F |
| Delta County, CO | 79 km north | 151 nights | 60 nights | 18°F |
Ouray County within CO
Ouray County ranks 24 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 7,341 ft, Ouray County sits 461 ft above 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 Ridgway, CO, 3 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.