Will Pipes Freeze in Sweetwater County, WY? 95 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sweetwater County
In a normal year Sweetwater County, WY gets 95 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 90% 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 | 192 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 95 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 41 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 14 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 95 nights of risk to 41 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 09/28, last around 05/22. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/12.
How cold Sweetwater County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, December, averages 13°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, October, November, December: 41 nights a year, and 14 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 24°F | 30°F | 38°F | 46°F | 54°F | 52°F | 43°F | 32°F | 21°F | 13°F |
Sweetwater County next to its neighbours
Daggett County, UT, 101 km southwest, gets 97 nights below 20°F to Sweetwater County's 95 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetwater County, WY | - | 192 nights | 95 nights | 13°F |
| Daggett County, UT | 101 km southwest | 191 nights | 97 nights | 13°F |
| Moffat County, CO | 129 km southeast | 211 nights | 118 nights | 5°F |
| Uinta County, WY | 146 km west | 203 nights | 103 nights | 12°F |
| Sublette County, WY | 150 km northwest | 264 nights | 165 nights | 0°F |
| Fremont County, WY | 157 km north | 184 nights | 105 nights | 8°F |
| Carbon County, WY | 161 km east | 205 nights | 104 nights | 11°F |
Sweetwater County within WY
Sweetwater County ranks 17 of 23 WY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sublette County, WY at 165 nights, with a 1°F average winter low. The fewest is Platte County, WY: 69 nights, winter lows near 16°F. At 6,863 ft, Sweetwater County sits 1,566 ft above the state's median county elevation of 5,297 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 Rock Springs Airport, WY, 16 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.