Alright, so here we are — staring down what some folks are already calling the Blizzard of 2026, like it’s a sequel nobody asked for. The Arctic blast is coming in hot — or, well, not hot — with bone-cracking cold and snow totals that’ll probably cancel half the weekend plans across the eastern U.S. And amid all the usual panic about bread, milk, and road salt, the internet’s gone and latched onto one absolutely wild-sounding headline: exploding trees.
Yes. Exploding. Trees.
Now, if you’ve been scrolling through X (formerly Twitter, but let’s be real, it’ll always be Twitter in our hearts), you may have stumbled upon a post from @MaxVelocityWX — an account with a serious following and a knack for turning weather updates into viral moments. Their warning to the Midwest didn’t just mention snow or wind chills. No, they took it up a notch: “Be on the lookout for exploding trees.”
Cue chaos.
People chimed in fast. Someone from Alaska confirmed it, saying they’ve seen trees split apart with their own eyes in -40°F cold. Another person responded to Pat McAfee (because why wouldn’t he be in this conversation?) with a photo of a tree that looked like it had been hit with a woodsy version of a stick of dynamite.
But then came the plot twist.
EXPLODING TREES are possible in the Midwest and Northern Plains on Friday and Saturday, as temperatures are forecasted to fall 20 degrees BELOW zero! pic.twitter.com/nqnoqsbHNU
— Max Velocity (@MaxVelocityWX) January 21, 2026
Enter meteorologist Sam Kuffel, who essentially stepped in with the “Actually…” energy we all kind of expected. According to her — and yes, science — the term “exploding” is a bit dramatic. And while trees can make sudden, loud cracking noises that sound like explosions in extreme cold, what’s really happening is something a little less Michael Bay.
It’s called frost cracking. And it’s honestly still pretty cool.
Here’s how it works: when temps plummet fast, especially on clear, sunny days followed by brutal nighttime cold, the outer layer of the tree cools and contracts way faster than the inner wood. That uneven tension builds up until — snap — the bark splits open, often vertically and often with a sound that’ll make you check your windows for a break-in.
So no, your backyard maple isn’t about to go full action movie on you. But if you’re outside shoveling snow this weekend and you hear something that sounds like a rifle shot in the woods, don’t panic — it might just be Mother Nature doing some winter maintenance.
Still, it’s probably smart to keep an eye out. Not because the trees are exploding. But because if they’re cracking that loudly, you’re officially deep into freeze-your-eyebrows-off territory. Stay safe, stay warm, and maybe give your trees a little space. You know, just in case.
