Will Pipes Freeze in Waldo County, ME? 76 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Waldo County
In a normal year Waldo County, ME gets 76 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 80% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 158 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 76 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 40 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 15 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 76 nights of risk to 40 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 10/05, last around 05/07. For 20°F: 11/14 to 04/03.
How cold Waldo County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 11°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 40 nights a year, and 15 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11°F | 12°F | 21°F | 32°F | 42°F | 52°F | 58°F | 57°F | 49°F | 39°F | 29°F | 19°F |
Waldo County next to its neighbours
Sagadahoc County, ME, 85 km southwest, gets 77 nights below 20°F to Waldo County's 76 nights. Knox County, ME, 49 km south, gets 55 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waldo County, ME | - | 158 nights | 76 nights | 11°F |
| Knox County, ME | 49 km south | 133 nights | 55 nights | 16°F |
| Kennebec County, ME | 52 km west | 151 nights | 76 nights | 11°F |
| Hancock County, ME | 60 km east | 160 nights | 75 nights | 11°F |
| Lincoln County, ME | 62 km southwest | 146 nights | 65 nights | 14°F |
| Sagadahoc County, ME | 85 km southwest | 158 nights | 77 nights | 11°F |
| Androscoggin County, ME | 93 km west | 147 nights | 72 nights | 11°F |
Waldo County within ME
Waldo County ranks 9 of 16 ME counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Franklin County, ME at 116 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Knox County, ME: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 279 ft, Waldo County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 298 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Belfast, ME, 14 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.