Will Pipes Freeze in Pondera County, MT? 82 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Pondera County
In a normal year Pondera County, MT gets 82 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 83% 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 | 173 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 82 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 43 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 23 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 82 nights of risk to 43 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 09/24, last around 05/17. For 20°F: 10/22 to 04/11.
How cold Pondera 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, April, October, November, December: 43 nights a year, and 23 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 14°F | 21°F | 30°F | 39°F | 47°F | 52°F | 51°F | 43°F | 33°F | 22°F | 15°F |
Pondera County next to its neighbours
Teton County, MT, 46 km south, gets 83 nights below 20°F to Pondera County's 82 nights. Cascade County, MT, 120 km southeast, gets 69 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pondera County, MT | - | 173 nights | 82 nights | 13°F |
| Teton County, MT | 46 km south | 177 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Toole County, MT | 59 km northeast | 194 nights | 109 nights | 7°F |
| Glacier County, MT | 78 km northwest | 189 nights | 85 nights | 13°F |
| Liberty County, MT | 95 km northeast | 197 nights | 114 nights | 4°F |
| Cascade County, MT | 120 km southeast | 158 nights | 69 nights | 16°F |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 124 km south | 189 nights | 80 nights | 15°F |
Pondera County within MT
Pondera County ranks 45 of 56 MT counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sheridan County, MT at 129 nights, with a 2°F average winter low. The fewest is Lake County, MT: 40 nights, winter lows near 22°F. At 3,922 ft, Pondera County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 3,922 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 Valier, MT, 10 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.