Will Pipes Freeze in York County, ME? 70 nights a Year
Freeze nights in York County
In a normal year York County, ME gets 70 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 77% 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 | 156 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 70 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 32 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 10 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 70 nights of risk to 32 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 09/30, last around 05/16. For 20°F: 11/02 to 04/06.
How cold York County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 11°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, December: 32 nights a year, and 10 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11°F | 12°F | 21°F | 31°F | 42°F | 51°F | 57°F | 56°F | 48°F | 37°F | 28°F | 18°F |
York County next to its neighbours
Belknap County, NH, 62 km west, gets 72 nights below 20°F to York County's 70 nights. Strafford County, NH, 33 km southwest, gets 63 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| York County, ME | - | 156 nights | 70 nights | 11°F |
| Strafford County, NH | 33 km southwest | 146 nights | 63 nights | 15°F |
| Cumberland County, ME | 50 km northeast | 145 nights | 68 nights | 13°F |
| Rockingham County, NH | 60 km southwest | 154 nights | 65 nights | 14°F |
| Belknap County, NH | 62 km west | 152 nights | 72 nights | 12°F |
| Carroll County, NH | 65 km northwest | 183 nights | 92 nights | 8°F |
| Merrimack County, NH | 83 km west | 172 nights | 80 nights | 12°F |
York County within ME
York County ranks 13 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 238 ft, York County sits 59 ft below 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.
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 Sanford (2 mi NNW), ME, 10 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.