Exploding Trees Rumor Sweeps Midwest Amid Arctic Blast

As an Arctic blast barrels across Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and much of the upper Midwest, temperatures are plunging to bone-chilling lows—20 degrees below zero or even colder—on Friday, January 23, 2026, and Saturday, January 24, 2026. But this winter’s deep freeze has brought more than just numb fingers and icy windshields. It’s also sparked a viral online phenomenon: the fear (and fascination) of “exploding trees.”

Social media has been abuzz with warnings about this dramatic-sounding event. On Wednesday, January 21, 2026, meteorologist Max Velocity posted a graphic on X (formerly Twitter), cautioning that “EXPLODING TREES are possible in the Midwest and Northern Plains on Friday and Saturday, as temperatures are forecasted to fall 20 degrees BELOW zero.” The post, with its breathless tone, quickly went viral—reportedly racking up nearly 7 million views, according to the site’s own metrics.

But are trees really about to start detonating across the countryside? Or is this just another case of internet hype outpacing reality? The answer, as it turns out, is a bit more nuanced—and a lot more interesting—than the viral headlines suggest.

According to reporting from Townsquare Media, the basic science behind the phenomenon is real. When temperatures drop rapidly and severely, the sap and moisture inside trees can freeze quickly. As water freezes, it expands, creating immense pressure within the tree’s trunk. If the temperature plunge is sharp enough, this pressure can cause the tree to split or even “explode” with a sound like a gunshot or thunderclap. The event, known as “frost cracking” or “cryoseismic booming,” is most likely to occur when temperatures dip below -20°F, especially after a period of milder weather, leaving trees unprepared for the sudden freeze.

Not all trees are equally vulnerable. Those with higher moisture content—such as oaks, maples, and many fruit trees—are particularly at risk. The explosive cracks usually happen late at night or in the early morning, when the mercury hits its lowest point. While the phenomenon can be startling, experts emphasize that it poses minimal danger to people indoors. However, anyone venturing near wooded areas should stay alert for falling branches or split trunks.

But is this really as common—or as dramatic—as the internet would have us believe? WCCO meteorologist Mike Augustyniak told the public that while water in trees can indeed expand if it freezes rapidly, the idea of widespread “exploding trees” during this particular cold snap is “not scientifically accurate.” He explained, “(The post is) definitely clickbait, but yes, the water in trees can expand if it freezes rapidly.” Augustyniak pointed out that, because many cold days have already hit Minnesota this winter, any water inside the state’s trees would have frozen weeks ago. “If this was a snap cooldown, after a milder period, then it would be more likely” to see tree damage, he said. “Going from negative 3 to negative 20 is not a big deal.”

FOX 9’s Cody Matz echoed this skepticism, noting that while the internet may be “abuzz over the possibility of exploding trees in the extreme cold,” the phenomenon is “extremely rare.” Matz compared the odds to “winning the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.” He explained that, while sap inside trees can expand or contract quickly during large and sudden temperature swings, leading to cracks and loud booms, this is not a common occurrence. “Don’t bother hunkering down in your basement like you would during a tornado, because this isn’t a widespread phenomenon,” Matz said. What’s actually more common, he added, is a phenomenon called “frost quakes,” where frozen soil contracts and cracks, causing booming sounds and even slight ground shaking during extreme cold.

Bill McNee, a forest health specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, offered further detail in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He explained that frost cracks occur because the thick sap inside a tree freezes at a colder temperature than water and usually stays liquid even when it’s well below freezing—a state called “supercooling.” “It’s going to get cold enough that this sap may actually finally freeze. And when it does that, like ice cubes in your freezer, they expand very quickly,” McNee said. “That just creates a lot of physical pressure that can lead to the frost cracking appearing suddenly, branches can fall off, and people hear this really loud crack from their tree, almost like it’s a gunshot.”

McNee emphasized, however, that it is “extremely rare for a tree to fully explode due to frost cracking; usually, the crack becomes part of the tree.” Most trees that do sustain cracks will heal over time, although such wounds can expose them to fungal infection or decay. Frost cracks are most likely to occur in thin-barked trees like maples, lindens, and sycamores, but any tree with sap could, under the right conditions, experience frost cracking. He also advised that anyone seeing a severe crack in a tree should consult an arborist, as severe frost cracking could cause trees to fall and become a safety hazard.

Benjamin Sheppard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Milwaukee/Sullivan, weighed in on the temperature threshold for frost cracks. He said the mercury generally needs to plunge to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower for trees to start cracking—a threshold that not every city will reach during this cold snap. For instance, Milwaukee is forecast to have lows of minus 14 on Friday and minus 11 on Saturday, still extremely cold but not quite cold enough to trigger widespread frost cracks.

The National Forest Foundation, cited by WUSA9, noted that trees have evolved remarkable strategies to survive extreme cold. But sometimes, sudden temperature changes are just too much. “During spells of extreme cold or when trees haven’t had time to acclimate, the life-sustaining sap inside a tree can begin to freeze,” the foundation explained. “Sap contains water, so it expands when frozen, putting pressure on the bark, which can break and create an explosion.” While it’s true that trees can crack, “they’re not going to shatter in a million pieces.”

Christopher Baird, an associate professor of physics at West Texas A&M University, added that the sound of the “explosion” may be violent, but the process isn’t dangerous for people nearby. “The crackling sound or gunshot pop you hear in the forest in the winter is the sound of trees freezing and bursting,” Baird said. He explained that a tree contains hundreds to tens of thousands of fluid channels, and if one bursts, it doesn’t do much damage overall. “Each channel is small, so that an individual channel bursting does not do much damage.”

So, should Midwesterners be worried about trees exploding this weekend? The answer is: not really. While the science behind frost cracking is real, the actual event is rare, and the risk to people is minimal. The viral warnings may make for good social media fodder, but the real story is a fascinating glimpse into how trees and the natural world respond to the planet’s most extreme weather.

For now, bundle up, stay safe, and don’t be alarmed if you hear a mysterious boom in the night—it’s just nature’s way of coping with another legendary Midwest winter.