Will Pipes Freeze in Shoshone County, ID? 50 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Shoshone County
In a normal year Shoshone County, ID gets 50 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 64% 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 | 172 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 50 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 16 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 50 nights of risk to 16 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 09/30, last around 05/12. For 20°F: 11/17 to 03/12.
How cold Shoshone County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, December, averages 22°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: 16 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22°F | 22°F | 26°F | 32°F | 39°F | 44°F | 48°F | 47°F | 41°F | 33°F | 27°F | 22°F |
Shoshone County next to its neighbours
Mineral County, MT, 65 km east, gets 60 nights below 20°F to Shoshone County's 50 nights. Benewah County, ID, 58 km west, gets 32 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shoshone County, ID | - | 172 nights | 50 nights | 22°F |
| Benewah County, ID | 58 km west | 151 nights | 32 nights | 24°F |
| Mineral County, MT | 65 km east | 185 nights | 60 nights | 21°F |
| Sanders County, MT | 70 km northeast | 212 nights | 81 nights | 18°F |
| Kootenai County, ID | 71 km northwest | 139 nights | 29 nights | 25°F |
| Clearwater County, ID | 77 km south | 209 nights | 55 nights | 19°F |
| Latah County, ID | 87 km southwest | 143 nights | 29 nights | 25°F |
Shoshone County within ID
Shoshone County ranks 32 of 44 ID counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Custer County, ID at 145 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Nez Perce County, ID: 20 nights, winter lows near 27°F. At 4,237 ft, Shoshone County sits 409 ft below the state's median county elevation of 4,646 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Mullan, ID, 14 km away (fair 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.