Will Pipes Freeze in Rio Arriba County, NM? 118 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Rio Arriba County
In a normal year Rio Arriba County, NM gets 118 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 December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 217 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 118 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 53 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 17 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 118 nights of risk to 53 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 09/18, last around 06/13. For 20°F: 10/16 to 04/29.
How cold Rio Arriba County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 9°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, November, December: 53 nights a year, and 17 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9°F | 14°F | 20°F | 26°F | 33°F | 41°F | 49°F | 48°F | 39°F | 28°F | 18°F | 10°F |
Rio Arriba County next to its neighbours
Conejos County, CO, 91 km northeast, gets 141 nights below 20°F to Rio Arriba County's 118 nights. Los Alamos County, NM, 79 km southeast, gets 51 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Arriba County, NM | - | 217 nights | 118 nights | 9°F |
| Los Alamos County, NM | 79 km southeast | 150 nights | 51 nights | 20°F |
| Archuleta County, CO | 83 km north | 208 nights | 107 nights | 9°F |
| Conejos County, CO | 91 km northeast | 218 nights | 141 nights | 1°F |
| Sandoval County, NM | 93 km south | 173 nights | 72 nights | 17°F |
| Taos County, NM | 95 km east | 203 nights | 108 nights | 9°F |
| Rio Grande County, CO | 111 km north | 237 nights | 151 nights | -1°F |
Rio Arriba County within NM
Rio Arriba County ranks 1 of 33 NM counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Sierra County, NM: 6 nights, winter lows near 31°F. At 7,233 ft, Rio Arriba County sits 1,628 ft above the state's median county elevation of 5,604 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 El Vado Dam, NM, 10 km away (fair 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.