Will Pipes Freeze in Somerset County, ME? 113 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Somerset County
In a normal year Somerset County, ME gets 113 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 96% 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 | 192 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 113 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 74 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 44 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 113 nights of risk to 74 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 09/29, last around 05/23. For 20°F: 11/06 to 04/17.
How cold Somerset County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 4°F; the coldest month, February, averages 1°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, November, December: 74 nights a year, and 44 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1°F | 1°F | 11°F | 26°F | 38°F | 48°F | 54°F | 52°F | 44°F | 34°F | 24°F | 11°F |
Somerset County next to its neighbours
Franklin County, ME, 69 km southwest, gets 116 nights below 20°F to Somerset County's 113 nights. Piscataquis County, ME, 81 km northeast, gets 109 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset County, ME | - | 192 nights | 113 nights | 1°F |
| Franklin County, ME | 69 km southwest | 199 nights | 116 nights | 2°F |
| Piscataquis County, ME | 81 km northeast | 188 nights | 109 nights | 2°F |
| Penobscot County, ME | 101 km east | 175 nights | 101 nights | 4°F |
| Kennebec County, ME | 122 km south | 151 nights | 76 nights | 11°F |
| Oxford County, ME | 128 km southwest | 179 nights | 95 nights | 6°F |
| Waldo County, ME | 132 km southeast | 158 nights | 76 nights | 11°F |
Somerset County within ME
Somerset County ranks 2 of 16 ME counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Franklin County, ME at 116 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Knox County, ME: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 1,322 ft, Somerset County sits 1,025 ft above the state's median county elevation of 298 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Brassua Dam, ME, 21 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.