Will Pipes Freeze in Rio Grande County, CO? 151 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Rio Grande County
In a normal year Rio Grande County, CO gets 151 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 | 237 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 151 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 87 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 46 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 151 nights of risk to 87 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 09/25, last around 05/23. For 20°F: 10/23 to 04/16.
How cold Rio Grande County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 1°F; the coldest month, January, averages -1°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: 87 nights a year, and 46 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1°F | 5°F | 16°F | 24°F | 32°F | 38°F | 45°F | 44°F | 36°F | 25°F | 13°F | 1°F |
Rio Grande County next to its neighbours
Mineral County, CO, 49 km west, gets 169 nights below 20°F to Rio Grande County's 151 nights. Conejos County, CO, 39 km southeast, gets 141 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Grande County, CO | - | 237 nights | 151 nights | -1°F |
| Conejos County, CO | 39 km southeast | 218 nights | 141 nights | 1°F |
| Mineral County, CO | 49 km west | 265 nights | 169 nights | -1°F |
| Alamosa County, CO | 59 km east | 222 nights | 146 nights | 0°F |
| Archuleta County, CO | 62 km southwest | 208 nights | 107 nights | 9°F |
| Saguache County, CO | 64 km north | 233 nights | 144 nights | 3°F |
| Hinsdale County, CO | 90 km northwest | 263 nights | 167 nights | -2°F |
Rio Grande County within CO
Rio Grande County ranks 10 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 11,370 ft, Rio Grande County sits 4,490 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.
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 Del Norte (3 mi ENE), CO, 26 km away (distant 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.