Social media posts warning of "exploding trees" in subzero temperatures are mischaracterizing a phenomenon known as frost cracks. Frost cracks form when water inside trees freezes and expands. As a ...

Frost cracks appear as vertical splits in the trunk of a tree and are the result of plant tissue expansion and contraction.

Learn the science behind "exploding trees," why extreme cold causes frost cracks and which species are most at risk.

With winter storms and a deep freeze over the northern United States, meteorologists on social media have created a different kind of storm with talk of exploding trees. But how real is the risk of ...

A viral social media post shared thousands of times warned of an “exploding tree risk." But experts say the dramatic imagery ...

When temperatures plunge and the air goes painfully still, people in northern forests sometimes hear a sharp crack that sounds like a gunshot. That eerie noise has fueled a viral claim that trees ...