Will Pipes Freeze in Toole County, MT? 109 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Toole County
In a normal year Toole County, MT gets 109 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 95% 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 | 194 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 109 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 60 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 32 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 109 nights of risk to 60 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 09/16, last around 05/23. For 20°F: 10/15 to 04/18.
How cold Toole County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°F; the coldest month, January, averages 7°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, October, November, December: 60 nights a year, and 32 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7°F | 10°F | 19°F | 28°F | 38°F | 46°F | 51°F | 50°F | 41°F | 29°F | 18°F | 9°F |
Toole County next to its neighbours
Liberty County, MT, 52 km east, gets 114 nights below 20°F to Toole County's 109 nights. Pondera County, MT, 59 km southwest, gets 82 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toole County, MT | - | 194 nights | 109 nights | 7°F |
| Liberty County, MT | 52 km east | 197 nights | 114 nights | 4°F |
| Pondera County, MT | 59 km southwest | 173 nights | 82 nights | 13°F |
| Glacier County, MT | 93 km west | 189 nights | 85 nights | 13°F |
| Teton County, MT | 100 km southwest | 177 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Hill County, MT | 120 km east | 186 nights | 101 nights | 6°F |
| Chouteau County, MT | 128 km southeast | 182 nights | 97 nights | 8°F |
Toole County within MT
Toole County ranks 11 of 56 MT counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sheridan County, MT at 129 nights, with a 2°F average winter low. The fewest is Lake County, MT: 40 nights, winter lows near 22°F. At 3,500 ft, Toole County sits 422 ft below the state's median county elevation of 3,922 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 Shelby, MT, 17 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.