When you are bracing for a harsh winter, "exploding trees" are the last things you want. The name is scary — what if a big tree explodes while you are clearing the snow nearby? Will it cause branches and roots to come flying, compromising the security of cars or homes? What if the explosion makes an entire tree fall on your property?
As per reports, all these worries are baseless. The tree itself is likely to survive a tree explosion. Passers-by stand little to no risk from the phenomenon, and people should not be worried or sidetracked from their winter preparations by social media hoaxes, US authorities have warned.
Experts have told US media that the name "exploding trees" gives the wrong impression. Scientifically speaking, frosts are making the trees crack. Trees undergo this phenomenon when temperatures drop suddenly without giving them the time to adjust. Due to the cold, the fluid content in their bark, the sap, begins to freeze.
Water expands as it freezes due to the sudden and heavy fall in temperature. This expansion puts additional pressure on the wood of the tree, and when it becomes unbearable, the bark may tear open and the wood may split. These cracks in a tree are what are being referred to as explosions.
CNN quoted an expert as saying that these cracks on trees caused by extreme winter sound more like a gunshot than an explosion of any magnitude. It is similar to the crushing and cracks that appear on a bottle or can placed in the freezer of a refrigerator.
As mentioned earlier, they can hardly harm the tree — let alone humans around it. Unless some insects, bacteria, or fungus enter the tree and inflict further damage through these splits, the trees should survive the frost cracks, the reports said.
