Will Pipes Freeze in Santa Fe County, NM? 57 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Santa Fe County
In a normal year Santa Fe County, NM gets 57 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 69% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 158 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 57 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 12 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 1 night |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 57 nights of risk to 12 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 10/06, last around 05/14. For 20°F: 11/03 to 04/05.
How cold Santa Fe County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, December, averages 19°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, November, December: 12 nights a year, and 1 night below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 22°F | 27°F | 33°F | 42°F | 52°F | 56°F | 55°F | 48°F | 37°F | 26°F | 19°F |
Santa Fe County next to its neighbours
Sandoval County, NM, 85 km west, gets 72 nights below 20°F to Santa Fe County's 57 nights. Los Alamos County, NM, 50 km northwest, gets 51 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe County, NM | - | 158 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
| Los Alamos County, NM | 50 km northwest | 150 nights | 51 nights | 20°F |
| Bernalillo County, NM | 82 km southwest | 125 nights | 41 nights | 22°F |
| Sandoval County, NM | 85 km west | 173 nights | 72 nights | 17°F |
| San Miguel County, NM | 105 km east | 187 nights | 97 nights | 14°F |
| Torrance County, NM | 107 km south | 169 nights | 73 nights | 19°F |
| Mora County, NM | 107 km northeast | 185 nights | 85 nights | 16°F |
Santa Fe County within NM
Santa Fe County ranks 13 of 33 NM counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rio Arriba County, NM at 118 nights, with a 11°F average winter low. The fewest is Sierra County, NM: 6 nights, winter lows near 31°F. At 6,559 ft, Santa Fe County sits 955 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 Santa Fe 2, NM, 12 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. What a "fair" or "distant" station match means is in the method guide.