Will Pipes Freeze in Routt County, CO? 116 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Routt County
In a normal year Routt County, CO gets 116 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 April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 213 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 116 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 63 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 28 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 116 nights of risk to 63 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 09/12, last around 06/09. For 20°F: 10/16 to 04/18.
How cold Routt County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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, April, October, November, December: 63 nights a year, and 28 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 10°F | 19°F | 28°F | 35°F | 41°F | 48°F | 47°F | 38°F | 28°F | 18°F | 8°F |
Routt County next to its neighbours
Jackson County, CO, 59 km east, gets 145 nights below 20°F to Routt County's 116 nights. Rio Blanco County, CO, 118 km southwest, gets 104 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Routt County, CO | - | 213 nights | 116 nights | 6°F |
| Jackson County, CO | 59 km east | 257 nights | 145 nights | 3°F |
| Grand County, CO | 85 km southeast | 265 nights | 154 nights | 2°F |
| Eagle County, CO | 98 km south | 247 nights | 141 nights | 6°F |
| Moffat County, CO | 105 km west | 211 nights | 118 nights | 5°F |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 118 km southwest | 204 nights | 104 nights | 8°F |
| Summit County, CO | 120 km southeast | 264 nights | 177 nights | 4°F |
Routt County within CO
Routt County ranks 22 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 6,524 ft, Routt County sits 356 ft below 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.
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 Steamboat Springs, CO, 14 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.