With this recent snow and ice storm that has affected a huge portion of the United States, you may have heard of this phenomenon floating around the internet dubbed “exploding trees.” There’s quite a lot of buzz on social media platforms — some AI videos floating around mixed with some joke videos, as well as a few informative news exposés featuring arborists.
Firstly, trees don’t spontaneously combust and fall apart. They could fall apart due to structural issues that may be exasperated by weather like heavy snow or an ice storm. Acts of Mother Nature like lightning could certainly blow a tree up to smithereens.
Trees live outside, and are ultimately subjected to all sorts of extreme heat and bitter cold that can damage them, like sun scalding and frost cracks.
What’s actually happening out there to the trees in those videos you’ve been seeing is that the bark is cracking — or what we call in the business, “frost cracking.” Trees have water stored in their cells that expands and contracts when there are rapid, drastic changes in temperature. This causes the inner and outer bark to split, forming a vertical crack which can also be accompanied by a loud “pop” sound that some claim sounds similar to a gunshot. Typically this happens to young, thin-bark trees like maples. The location on the tree and the size of the crack will vary, although it usually happens on the trunk of the tree.
Don’t worry if you notice this on one of your trees — it isn’t a death sentence, but it is technically a wound and the tree will need to take time to seal. While the tree is in this weakened state, insects and fungi could try to take advantage of it, which could lead to new problems.
In conclusion, none of the arborists at Truetimber have ever seen a tree explode. From our experience, frost cracks are uncommon in the piedmont region of Virginia — although it can happen. We always recommend having an arborist out to look at your trees once a year, but if you see something you are concerned about, please give us a call!
