Do trees actually explode from 'extreme' cold?

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The internet is suddenly all abuzz over the possibility of exploding trees in the extreme cold.

There are many people who have likely lived in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest their whole life and have never seen or heard anything about exploding trees. Then comes 2026 and... the internet. The sudden interest seems to stem around a post, or a couple of posts, from different social meteorologists talking about the upcoming bitter cold for the Upper Midwest stating that exploding trees will be possible. I would wager that none of these folks have ever spent a winter in the far north. 

Do trees explode in the extreme cold?

What we know:

Well, don't bother hunkering down in your basement like you would during a tornado, because this isn't a widespread phenomenon. It is extremely rare. Think of this like winning the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot. While it can and does happen, it is extremely rare. 

During some extreme temperatures, especially with large and sudden drops or rises in or out of a deep freeze, the sap in trees can expand or contract very quickly. This could add extra pressure to the inside of the tree that it is unable to handle, leading to a sudden split, crack, or sheer of wood and bark that often comes with a loud boom.

‘Frost quakes’ are far more common

Dig deeper:

What is far more common is the phenomenon called "frost quakes." The title is a little misleading because it is not an earthquake. But it does have to do with how our soil interacts with the bitter cold. Moisture gets locked away in the soil as the ground freezes. But as temperatures continue to fall to more unusual levels of the 20s, 30s, or 40s below zero, the soil may contract enough to where the pressure on the ice in that soil eventually leads to some cracking as the soil splits. 

This happens in a split second, bringing a sound or "boom" along with it. If that split is large or long enough, that can lead to a significant boom that can lead to the ground shaking slightly and a large boom in areas immediately surrounding it. 

Does your house or apartment often creak or moan in the much colder temperatures in the winter? It likely does, even if you've never noticed. It's the same reasoning, buildings contract in the "extreme" cold, leading to those weird sounds in the coldest of temps.