Will Pipes Freeze in Ransom County, ND? 111 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ransom County
In a normal year Ransom County, ND gets 111 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 96% 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 | 182 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 111 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 71 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 41 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 111 nights of risk to 71 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 09/27, last around 05/12. For 20°F: 10/26 to 04/13.
How cold Ransom County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 4°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, November, December: 71 nights a year, and 41 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0°F | 4°F | 16°F | 29°F | 43°F | 54°F | 59°F | 56°F | 46°F | 33°F | 19°F | 7°F |
Ransom County next to its neighbours
Sargent County, ND, 38 km south, gets 112 nights below 20°F to Ransom County's 111 nights. Richland County, ND, 58 km east, gets 109 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ransom County, ND | - | 182 nights | 111 nights | 0°F |
| Sargent County, ND | 38 km south | 178 nights | 112 nights | -1°F |
| Richland County, ND | 58 km east | 175 nights | 109 nights | 0°F |
| Cass County, ND | 61 km northeast | 182 nights | 116 nights | -1°F |
| Barnes County, ND | 64 km northwest | 191 nights | 121 nights | -2°F |
| LaMoure County, ND | 67 km west | 180 nights | 113 nights | 2°F |
| Dickey County, ND | 75 km southwest | 178 nights | 109 nights | 2°F |
Ransom County within ND
Ransom County ranks 43 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 1,180 ft, Ransom County sits 553 ft below 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 Lisbon, ND, 4 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.