When temperatures drop suddenly, trapped water can freeze and expand, splitting trunks with a gunshot-like sound During the recent cold spell in the northern US, meteorologists issued warnings about ...

Chip Murrow had never heard the term "exploding trees" in his 30 years as a forester for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Is there a danger of exploding trees in Iowa? And how does it happen?

Every time arctic air drops south, and temperatures plummet well below zero, social media lights up with a scary (and slightly cinematic) rumor called "exploding trees." Videos circulate of loud, ...

Many years ago, Lakota elder and tribal historian Victor Douville was traveling through the Black Hills of South Dakota in the dead of winter. It was early in the morning, and temperatures had ...

Massachusetts is already preparing for sub-zero temperatures and a massive snowstorm this weekend, but will residents also have to look out for exploding trees? Not exactly. “Exploding trees” have ...

John Seiler was strolling across Virginia Tech’s campus with his students Thursday morning when something stopped them in their tracks: a sweet cherry tree with an unusual jagged scar running along ...

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Social media posts warning about “exploding trees” during frigid temperatures are misleading, according to a local arborist. The phenomenon referenced in viral posts is ...

Rapid temperature drops can cause a real phenomenon called a "frost crack," when moisture inside a tree freezes and splits the trunk. Smooth-barked trees like sycamores are especially vulnerable, and ...

If this winter hasn’t been cold enough for you, imagine how a tree “explosion” could make it worse. As temperatures drop in multiple states across the United States, a viral social media post of the ...