Will Pipes Freeze in Park County, WY? 128 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Park County
In a normal year Park County, WY gets 128 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 May, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 247 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 128 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 74 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 33 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 128 nights of risk to 74 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.
How cold Park County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°F overnight. 12 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, 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: 74 nights a year, and 33 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 9°F | 15°F | 23°F | 31°F | 36°F | 41°F | 40°F | 33°F | 26°F | 16°F | 8°F |
Park County next to its neighbours
Teton County, WY, 83 km southwest, gets 163 nights below 20°F to Park County's 128 nights. Carbon County, MT, 93 km northeast, gets 91 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park County, WY | - | 247 nights | 128 nights | 8°F |
| Teton County, WY | 83 km southwest | 279 nights | 163 nights | 2°F |
| Carbon County, MT | 93 km northeast | 183 nights | 91 nights | 11°F |
| Hot Springs County, WY | 126 km southeast | 186 nights | 105 nights | 9°F |
| Big Horn County, WY | 127 km east | 183 nights | 109 nights | 5°F |
| Stillwater County, MT | 131 km north | 182 nights | 87 nights | 11°F |
| Park County, MT | 131 km northwest | 172 nights | 77 nights | 17°F |
Park County within WY
Park County ranks 4 of 23 WY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sublette County, WY at 165 nights, with a 1°F average winter low. The fewest is Platte County, WY: 69 nights, winter lows near 16°F. At 7,235 ft, Park County sits 1,938 ft above the state's median county elevation of 5,297 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 Yellowstone Np E Ent, WY, 33 km away (fair 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.