Will Pipes Freeze in Teller County, CO? 107 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Teller County
In a normal year Teller County, CO gets 107 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 94% 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 | 207 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 107 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 45 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 12 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 107 nights of risk to 45 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 09/26, last around 05/26. For 20°F: 10/23 to 04/25.
How cold Teller County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 13°F; the coldest month, January, 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, April, October, November, December: 45 nights a year, and 12 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 13°F | 20°F | 25°F | 33°F | 43°F | 48°F | 46°F | 40°F | 29°F | 21°F | 14°F |
Teller County next to its neighbours
Park County, CO, 54 km northwest, gets 153 nights below 20°F to Teller County's 107 nights. Fremont County, CO, 51 km southwest, gets 92 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teller County, CO | - | 207 nights | 107 nights | 13°F |
| Fremont County, CO | 51 km southwest | 183 nights | 92 nights | 13°F |
| Park County, CO | 54 km northwest | 248 nights | 153 nights | 1°F |
| Douglas County, CO | 55 km northeast | 167 nights | 71 nights | 18°F |
| El Paso County, CO | 57 km east | 164 nights | 74 nights | 17°F |
| Jefferson County, CO | 79 km north | 208 nights | 105 nights | 14°F |
| Custer County, CO | 87 km south | 206 nights | 115 nights | 9°F |
Teller County within CO
Teller County ranks 26 of 64 CO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Summit County, CO at 177 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 9,304 ft, Teller County sits 2,425 ft above the state's median county elevation of 6,880 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 Cripple Creek (3 mi NNW), CO, 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.