Will Pipes Freeze in Yuma County, CO? 72 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Yuma County
In a normal year Yuma County, CO gets 72 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 78% 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 | 162 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 72 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 24 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 72 nights of risk to 24 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 10/06, last around 05/07. For 20°F: 10/31 to 04/07.
How cold Yuma County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 24 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 18°F | 26°F | 34°F | 45°F | 56°F | 61°F | 59°F | 49°F | 36°F | 25°F | 17°F |
Yuma County next to its neighbours
Cheyenne County, KS, 64 km east, gets 75 nights below 20°F to Yuma County's 72 nights. Kit Carson County, CO, 79 km south, gets 63 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma County, CO | - | 162 nights | 72 nights | 16°F |
| Cheyenne County, KS | 64 km east | 162 nights | 75 nights | 15°F |
| Dundy County, NE | 66 km east | 164 nights | 79 nights | 15°F |
| Phillips County, CO | 66 km north | 170 nights | 81 nights | 13°F |
| Washington County, CO | 67 km west | 164 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 79 km south | 157 nights | 63 nights | 18°F |
| Chase County, NE | 85 km northeast | 167 nights | 81 nights | 13°F |
Yuma County within CO
Yuma County ranks 52 of 64 CO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Summit County, CO at 177 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 3,816 ft, Yuma County sits 3,064 ft below the state's median county elevation of 6,880 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 Wray, CO, 20 km away (fair 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.