Are Trees ‘Exploding’ In Upstate New York This Winter?

If you have been scrolling social media lately, you may have seen videos of so-called "exploding trees" and wondered if that is something that could happen in your own backyard here in Upstate New York. With another stretch of bitter cold settling in, it is a fair question.

The short answer is yes, it is real, but not quite as dramatic as the internet makes it sound.

Trees do not actually blow up. What people are hearing is something called frost cracking. When temperatures drop fast, the moisture and sap inside a tree can freeze and expand more quickly than the wood can handle.

Read More: The Biggest Snowstorms Of All Time in the Capital Region

That pressure has to go somewhere, so the trunk or bark can split suddenly. It can sound like a gunshot or a firework, especially late at night when everything is quiet.

This is most common during deep cold snaps, like the kind we see in January and February around Albany, Saratoga, the Mohawk Valley, and the North Country, especially after a milder stretch. The sunny side of the tree often takes the hit because it warms during the day and then freezes hard after dark.

Maples, oaks, sycamores, and fruit trees are frequent victims, and older or already stressed trees are more likely to crack. Some recover over time, but repeated splits can leave them weaker and more open to insects and decay.

Interestingly, trees can also split during extreme summer heat when the inside warms and expands faster than the bark, a process sometimes called sunscald.

So if you hear a loud crack outside on a frigid night, it is probably not a transformer or fireworks. It might just be one of our Upstate trees reacting to the cold.