Direct answer: A frozen water meter line usually shows up as little or no water at every fixture during a cold snap, even though your shutoffs are open. Start by confirming it is a whole-house supply problem, then warm the exposed meter area and nearby entry piping gently. Do not use a torch, open flame, or high-heat gun.
Most likely: The most likely trouble spot is the exposed or poorly insulated section near the meter, foundation wall, crawl space entry, or other cold-air leak where the service line comes into the house.
When a water meter line freezes, the clues are usually pretty plain: faucets across the house slow to a trickle or stop, toilets do not refill, and the problem started during hard cold weather. Reality check: sometimes the frozen spot is only a few feet from where the pipe enters the house, not deep underground. Common wrong move: heating one tiny section until it is too hot to touch while the real ice plug is farther along the line.
Don’t start with: Do not start by buying random plumbing parts or blasting the pipe with extreme heat. The first job is finding whether the freeze is at the meter area, the house entry, or somewhere farther upstream.
Kitchen, bath, and laundry fixtures all have little or no flow, and toilets may not refill at all.
Start here: First confirm the main shutoff is fully open and ask whether nearby homes also lost water. If neighbors still have water, focus on the meter area and the pipe where it enters the house.
You still get some water, but flow is much lower than normal at both hot and cold fixtures.
Start here: This often means partial ice blockage near the meter line or house entry. Start with the coldest exposed sections before assuming a fixture problem.
You can feel drafts, see frost on piping, or notice the meter and nearby pipe are in an unheated space.
Start here: Check the exposed meter body, shutoff area, and first several feet of pipe inside the house. That is the highest-payoff place to look.
After thawing or a warm-up, you hear running water, see dripping, or find wet insulation or drywall near the entry line.
Start here: Shut the water off right away. A split pipe or damaged fitting is likely, and that changes the job from thawing to leak repair.
This is the most common spot because it sits near cold masonry, drafts, or an unheated basement or crawl space.
Quick check: Feel for the coldest section, look for frost, and compare pipe temperature from the meter toward the house.
A small gap at the rim joist, foundation penetration, or access door can freeze one section repeatedly even when the rest of the basement is tolerable.
Quick check: Look for daylight, moving cold air, or insulation pulled back near the pipe entry.
If one bathroom or one side of the house still works, the main meter line is probably not the issue.
Quick check: Run several cold faucets in different parts of the house and note whether the failure is whole-house or limited to one area.
If the meter area inside is not especially cold and no exposed section responds to gentle warming, the freeze may be in the buried service line or utility-side equipment.
Quick check: Check whether the meter pit, exterior wall, or utility access area is unusually cold, and whether neighbors have normal service.
You do not want to chase the meter line if the real problem is one frozen branch or a local shutoff.
Next move: If some fixtures have normal cold water, the meter line is probably not frozen. Focus on the affected branch area instead. If cold water is weak or absent everywhere and the problem started during freezing weather, keep working the meter-line path.
What to conclude: A whole-house pattern points to a freeze at the meter area, the house entry, or the incoming service line rather than a single fixture problem.
The frozen section is usually at the first badly exposed stretch, not necessarily where the symptom shows up.
Next move: If you find one clearly colder exposed section, that is the best place to start gentle thawing. If no exposed section stands out, the freeze may be deeper in a wall, crawl space, meter pit, or buried service line.
What to conclude: A visible cold spot near the meter or entry line supports a manageable thawing attempt. No visible cold spot raises the odds that the freeze is outside easy DIY reach.
Gentle, steady heat works better than extreme heat, and an open faucet gives melting water somewhere to go.
Next move: If water begins to trickle and then strengthens, keep warming until full flow returns and the pipe temperature evens out. If there is no change after a reasonable gentle thaw attempt on the exposed section, the freeze is likely farther along or not safely accessible.
A frozen line can open back up and then start leaking once pressure returns.
Next move: If the line thaws and stays dry, restore normal use and move on to insulation and draft control. If a leak shows up, the thawing part is over and the repair becomes a damaged pipe or valve job.
Some frozen meter-line problems end with simple insulation and air sealing. Others need a plumber or the water utility.
A good result: If the line is flowing normally, staying dry, and the cold exposure is corrected, the immediate problem is solved.
If not: If the line refreezes quickly or you still have no water, the freeze is deeper or the protection problem is bigger than a quick fix.
What to conclude: A one-time freeze near the entry line is often preventable. Repeated freezing usually means the area stays too cold or the vulnerable section is farther out than you can safely address yourself.
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If cold water is weak or gone at every fixture, toilets are not refilling, and the problem started during freezing weather, the incoming supply line is more likely than a single branch. If one room still has normal cold water, the main meter line usually is not the issue.
Warm towels are safer than dumping hot water. Sudden temperature shock can stress some pipes and fittings, and loose water around the meter area creates slip and electrical hazards if you are using a hair dryer nearby.
Most often at the exposed section near the meter, foundation wall, crawl space entry, rim area, or anywhere cold air hits the pipe. The buried line can freeze too, but the first few exposed feet inside the house are the most common DIY-accessible trouble spot.
Call the utility if the problem appears to be at the meter itself, in a meter pit, or on utility-owned equipment. Call a plumber if the house-side shutoff, exposed entry pipe, or nearby fittings are frozen, leaking, or split.
That usually means the cold exposure was not fixed. Add proper insulation to the exposed house-side pipe, seal the draft that is hitting it, and keep the space warmer during severe cold. If it still refreezes, the vulnerable section may be farther out than you can safely reach.