What Should You Do If Your Pipes Freeze in Nashville?
- 7 sections
- 1 table
- 7 sources cited
If a faucet slows to a trickle or stops during a hard freeze, treat the line as frozen and act before it thaws. Leave that faucet open, find your main shutoff valve, and warm the pipe slowly with gentle heat such as a hair dryer. Never use an open flame. If a pipe has split, water is showing up where it should not, or you cannot find the frozen section, shut off the water at the main and call a licensed plumber. Water running in the street is a different problem, and it belongs to Metro Water Services.
How Cold Does Nashville Get, and When Are Pipes at Risk?
Freezing nights are a regular part of a Nashville winter. The NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Nashville International Airport count an average of 66 nights a year at or below 32°F, about 6 days a year when the temperature stays at or below freezing all day, and 1.8 nights a year at or below 10°F (NOAA climate normals for Nashville).
Those two numbers tell you where the risk sits. With 66 freezing nights against about 6 days that never climb above freezing, most freezes in the record are overnight lows followed by a daytime thaw. The stretches that hold below freezing through the day, and the rare nights near 10°F, are the ones to prepare for. By the same normals, January carries the most freezing nights, at 18.8. The coldest month in Nashville and what winter is like here are covered in their own guides.
The January 2026 storm showed what a long freeze does to the city’s plumbing. WPLN reported that at least 30 breaks or suspected breaks of water mains had been reported in Nashville by Thursday afternoon of that week, according to Metro Water Services’ outage map, and that power outages left some dripping sinks frozen solid (WPLN, January 29, 2026).
Is the Pipe Frozen, Leaking, or Is the Break Somewhere Else?
The first decision is what kind of problem you have, because each one goes to a different person.
| What you see | What it can mean | First move |
|---|---|---|
| One faucet stopped or trickles, no water visible anywhere | A frozen section on that line, not yet known to be broken | Leave the faucet open and warm the line gently |
| Water on a floor, a ceiling stain, hissing inside a wall | A split pipe that is leaking or will leak as it thaws | Shut off the main and call a plumber |
| Water running in the street or pooling near the meter | A possible water main or service line break | Report it to Metro Water Services |
| Power is out and the cold will last | The house cannot keep the pipes warm | Have a plumber shut off the main and drain the house |
A split pipe may not leak until the ice inside it melts, which is why knowing where the main shutoff is matters before the thaw, not after.
How Do You Thaw a Frozen Pipe Without Starting a Fire?
Fire officials put the main hazard plainly. The Dunstable, Massachusetts Fire Department’s guidance on thawing frozen pipes says: “Never use a blow torch to thaw frozen pipes. This is the cause of most home fires started when trying to accomplish this task.” (Dunstable Fire Department)
The same guidance gives a safe order of work:
- Keep the faucet on that line open, so melting water has somewhere to go and pressure does not build.
- Leave the main valve open while you thaw, unless you already see a leak.
- Start warming at the faucet end of the pipe and work back toward the frozen section and the water source.
- Use gentle heat, such as a hair dryer, on pipe you can see and reach.
Space heaters bring their own risk. The U.S. Fire Administration says to “Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet from all heat sources,” to turn space heaters off when you leave the room or go to bed, and to “Never use an oven to heat your home.” (U.S. Fire Administration)
Stop and call a plumber if the frozen section is inside a wall, under the house where you cannot reach it safely, or still frozen after you have warmed everything you can reach. If water has reached outlets, cords, or the electrical panel, do not stand in it or plug anything in; keep clear and call an electrician.
What Should You Do Before the Next Hard Freeze?
Plumber Matt Newsom of 100 Percent Plumbing gave WPLN a short list for homes that still have power: open the cabinet doors under sinks, keep the thermostat at 65°F or higher, and let the faucet drip overnight (WPLN).
For homes without power, with no restoration expected before the cold sets in, his advice was to call a plumber and have them shut off the water main and drain the water from the home, including the water heater. That is a step to arrange before the house gets cold, not after.
Metro Water Services added a reason that reaches past the kitchen sink. In a January 2026 statement reported by WSMV, the utility explained that “Water expands when it freezes,” and added: “Frozen pipes and unprotected backflow prevention assemblies can lead to costly repairs, water loss, and service disruptions.” (WSMV, January 27, 2026) If your irrigation or fire line has a backflow assembly outside, it needs protection as well.
Two things are worth doing on a mild day: find your main shutoff valve and make sure it turns, and note which faucets sit on outside walls, since those are the ones you will drip.
When Is It a Metro Water Problem and When Is It Yours?
The utility’s own warning is that the thaw is when the street breaks. Metro Water Services reminded Davidson County residents, WSMV reported, that when temperatures begin to rise again, water mains often break because the ground shifts (WSMV) During the January storm, MWS Director Scott Porter asked residents to call 615-862-4600 if they see a main break (WPLN).
Water coming up through the pavement or running down the curb is a report for that number. A frozen or split pipe inside the house is a job for a plumber. If the leak is near the meter and you cannot tell which side it is on, ask Metro Water where its responsibility ends at your property before you hire anyone to dig.
How Do You Choose a Plumber During a Freeze?
Check the license before anyone starts work. Tennessee requires a contractor’s license before bidding or price negotiation on a project of $25,000 or more, and the state issues a separate limited licensed plumber credential for jobs under $25,000 in areas where the state Division of Fire Prevention handles plumbing permits or inspections. You can look up a license by name or number on Tennessee’s license search before anyone opens a wall.
Ask three things on the phone: whether they can shut off and drain the house if your power is out, whether they will tell you if the problem is on the utility side, and how they charge for an emergency visit.
One local option is Gold Star Plumbing. According to its website, the La Vergne company is family owned, offers 24/7 emergency service, and works on water lines, repiping, water heaters, and drain and sewer problems; its contact page lists limited licensed plumber number 4138. Its blog also takes on the case in the first row of the table above, a faucet that stopped during a freeze before anything burst. The company can be reached at (615) 290-9860.
Who Do You Call First?
If water is only missing, keep the faucet open and warm the line gently; if water is anywhere it should not be, shut off the main and call a plumber; if it is in the street, call Metro Water.