Will Pipes Freeze in Sheridan County, MT? 129 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sheridan County
In a normal year Sheridan County, MT gets 129 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 | 203 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 129 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 80 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 47 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 129 nights of risk to 80 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 09/14, last around 05/25. For 20°F: 10/08 to 04/26.
How cold Sheridan County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 2°F; the coldest month, January, averages -2°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: 80 nights a year, and 47 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -2°F | 3°F | 15°F | 27°F | 38°F | 48°F | 53°F | 51°F | 40°F | 28°F | 15°F | 3°F |
Sheridan County next to its neighbours
Roosevelt County, MT, 58 km southwest, gets 128 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan County, MT | - | 203 nights | 129 nights | -2°F |
| Roosevelt County, MT | 58 km southwest | 203 nights | 128 nights | 1°F |
| Daniels County, MT | 75 km west | 205 nights | 127 nights | 0°F |
| Divide County, ND | 76 km east | 196 nights | 126 nights | -1°F |
| Williams County, ND | 85 km southeast | 187 nights | 113 nights | 2°F |
| Richland County, MT | 102 km south | 181 nights | 102 nights | 5°F |
| McKenzie County, ND | 136 km southeast | 193 nights | 115 nights | 5°F |
Sheridan County within MT
Sheridan County ranks 1 of 56 MT counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Lake County, MT: 40 nights, winter lows near 22°F. At 2,202 ft, Sheridan County sits 1,720 ft below the state's median county elevation of 3,922 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 Plentywood, MT, 8 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.