Will Pipes Freeze in Warren County, MO? 41 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Warren County
In a normal year Warren County, MO gets 41 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 57% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 112 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 41 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 15 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 41 nights of risk to 15 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 10/23, last around 04/14. For 20°F: 11/24 to 03/13.
How cold Warren County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 23°F; the coldest month, January, averages 20°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, December: 15 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 23°F | 33°F | 43°F | 53°F | 63°F | 66°F | 64°F | 56°F | 44°F | 34°F | 25°F |
Warren County next to its neighbours
Montgomery County, MO, 33 km northwest, gets 42 nights below 20°F to Warren County's 41 nights. Lincoln County, MO, 37 km northeast, gets 39 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warren County, MO | - | 112 nights | 41 nights | 20°F |
| Montgomery County, MO | 33 km northwest | 114 nights | 42 nights | 19°F |
| Lincoln County, MO | 37 km northeast | 108 nights | 39 nights | 20°F |
| Franklin County, MO | 40 km south | 106 nights | 35 nights | 22°F |
| St. Charles County, MO | 42 km east | 104 nights | 37 nights | 21°F |
| Gasconade County, MO | 47 km southwest | 119 nights | 46 nights | 19°F |
| Calhoun County, IL | 62 km northeast | 109 nights | 39 nights | 20°F |
Warren County within MO
Warren County ranks 51 of 115 MO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Caldwell County, MO at 65 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Pemiscot County, MO: 14 nights, winter lows near 31°F. At 848 ft, Warren County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 842 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 Warrenton (1 mi N), MO, 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.