Will Pipes Freeze in Teton County, WY? 163 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Teton County
In a normal year Teton County, WY gets 163 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 100% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs September to May, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 279 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 163 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 102 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 56 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 163 nights of risk to 102 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.
How cold Teton County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 3°F; the coldest month, January, averages 2°F overnight. 12 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, May, October, November, December: 102 nights a year, and 56 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2°F | 2°F | 10°F | 19°F | 28°F | 35°F | 40°F | 38°F | 31°F | 23°F | 12°F | 4°F |
Teton County next to its neighbours
Sublette County, WY, 148 km south, gets 165 nights below 20°F to Teton County's 163 nights. Teton County, ID, 71 km southwest, gets 106 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teton County, WY | - | 279 nights | 163 nights | 2°F |
| Teton County, ID | 71 km southwest | 208 nights | 106 nights | 9°F |
| Park County, WY | 83 km northeast | 247 nights | 128 nights | 8°F |
| Fremont County, ID | 87 km west | 231 nights | 121 nights | 8°F |
| Madison County, ID | 103 km west | 186 nights | 88 nights | 12°F |
| Bonneville County, ID | 120 km southwest | 196 nights | 91 nights | 14°F |
| Sublette County, WY | 148 km south | 264 nights | 165 nights | 0°F |
Teton County within WY
Teton County ranks 2 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 8,473 ft, Teton County sits 3,176 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 Snake Rvr, WY, 22 km away (distant match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.