Will Pipes Freeze in Rolette County, ND? 137 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Rolette County
In a normal year Rolette County, ND gets 137 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 | 205 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 137 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 94 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 61 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 137 nights of risk to 94 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 09/20, last around 05/22. For 20°F: 10/14 to 04/24.
How cold Rolette County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: -3°F; the coldest month, January, averages -6°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: 94 nights a year, and 61 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -6°F | -3°F | 11°F | 26°F | 39°F | 50°F | 55°F | 52°F | 42°F | 29°F | 14°F | 1°F |
Rolette County next to its neighbours
Towner County, ND, 44 km east, gets 133 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rolette County, ND | - | 205 nights | 137 nights | -6°F |
| Towner County, ND | 44 km east | 201 nights | 133 nights | -5°F |
| Pierce County, ND | 60 km south | 192 nights | 128 nights | -4°F |
| Bottineau County, ND | 73 km west | 194 nights | 127 nights | -3°F |
| McHenry County, ND | 83 km southwest | 190 nights | 120 nights | 0°F |
| Benson County, ND | 85 km southeast | 192 nights | 125 nights | -2°F |
| Ramsey County, ND | 98 km southeast | 190 nights | 124 nights | -3°F |
Rolette County within ND
Rolette County ranks 1 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 1,700 ft, Rolette County sits close to 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.
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 Rolette (3 mi SE), ND, 16 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.