Will Pipes Freeze in Uintah County, UT? 96 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Uintah County
In a normal year Uintah County, UT gets 96 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 January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 174 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 96 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 49 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 23 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 96 nights of risk to 49 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 10/03, last around 05/02. For 20°F: 11/01 to 03/21.
How cold Uintah County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°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, November, December: 49 nights a year, and 23 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 13°F | 25°F | 33°F | 42°F | 50°F | 57°F | 54°F | 45°F | 33°F | 21°F | 9°F |
Uintah County next to its neighbours
Duchesne County, UT, 80 km west, gets 102 nights below 20°F to Uintah County's 96 nights. Carbon County, UT, 104 km southwest, gets 52 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uintah County, UT | - | 174 nights | 96 nights | 5°F |
| Duchesne County, UT | 80 km west | 187 nights | 102 nights | 8°F |
| Daggett County, UT | 85 km north | 191 nights | 97 nights | 13°F |
| Carbon County, UT | 104 km southwest | 146 nights | 52 nights | 20°F |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 113 km east | 204 nights | 104 nights | 8°F |
| Moffat County, CO | 123 km northeast | 211 nights | 118 nights | 5°F |
| Grand County, UT | 128 km south | 126 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
Uintah County within UT
Uintah County ranks 8 of 29 UT counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rich County, UT at 138 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Salt Lake County, UT: 22 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 4,919 ft, Uintah County sits 888 ft below the state's median county elevation of 5,807 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 Ouray (4 mi NE), UT, 11 km away (close 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.