Will Pipes Freeze in Steele County, ND? 119 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Steele County
In a normal year Steele County, ND gets 119 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 98% 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 | 187 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 119 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 80 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 50 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 119 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 09/24, last around 05/10. For 20°F: 10/25 to 04/14.
How cold Steele County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: -1°F; the coldest month, January, averages -4°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: 80 nights a year, and 50 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -4°F | -1°F | 14°F | 29°F | 42°F | 53°F | 57°F | 54°F | 45°F | 32°F | 17°F | 4°F |
Steele County next to its neighbours
Griggs County, ND, 39 km west, gets 120 nights below 20°F to Steele County's 119 nights. Traill County, ND, 42 km east, gets 112 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steele County, ND | - | 187 nights | 119 nights | -4°F |
| Griggs County, ND | 39 km west | 187 nights | 120 nights | -2°F |
| Traill County, ND | 42 km east | 177 nights | 112 nights | 0°F |
| Grand Forks County, ND | 56 km north | 186 nights | 118 nights | -3°F |
| Barnes County, ND | 62 km southwest | 191 nights | 121 nights | -2°F |
| Nelson County, ND | 63 km northwest | 191 nights | 126 nights | -4°F |
| Cass County, ND | 68 km southeast | 182 nights | 116 nights | -1°F |
Steele County within ND
Steele County ranks 21 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rolette County, ND at 137 nights, with a -3°F average winter low. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 1,247 ft, Steele County sits 486 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,733 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 Colgate, ND, 24 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.