Mysterious Phenomenon: How Do Trees 'Explode' During Texas' Freezing Storms?

An ominous sound and loud pops, like gunshots, can be heard ringing around the streets of Texas as the worst winter storms caused trees to explode as they froze.

Texas residents say that trees are "literally exploding" due to the freezing temperatures throughout the state courtesy of winter storm Landon. Some even described the sounds like gunshots, IFLScience reports.

"We listened to them all night. Sounds like gunshots going off. All of a sudden you just hear a great bang and they take out two or three more trees with it," Princeton resident Lauren Reber told local news NBCDFW.

"Exploding trees" is actually not a new phenomenon in Texas, just like last year's infamous "Texas freeze". Their sap is basically being frozen by the winter storm causing excess weight along the tree's limbs and generating huge pressure on the internal structure.

Once pressures reach their breaking point, the branches of the tree - and sometimes, the entire tree itself - will explode, sending fragments flying and huge branches falling to the ground.

Signs to stay inside

(Photo : Photo by Emil Lippe/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - FEBRUARY 03: Frozen branches glisten in the light of an empty shopping center after a winter storm on February 3, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. A major winter storm pummeled areas from the South to the Midwest with snow, sleet, and freezing rain as it continues to move east across the United States.

Reber said that her barn even collapsed under a sheet of ice as branches fell on it. "There's a good quarter-inch of ice on top of it," Reber said, and on top of that, she's been without electricity all day because she said the transformers by her home caught fire overnight.

"Our only means of heat right now is our propane heater because all of our firewood's frozen."

According to MailOnline, Governor Greg Abbott had issued a disaster declaration on Thursday in response to winter storm Landon's path of destruction across the state. He warned residents of possible power outages and other disruptions likely to happen over "widespread freezing rain, ice and snow."

"No one can guarantee that there won't be a low shed event," Abbott said on Tuesday. "But what we will work and strive to achieve, and what we're prepared to achieve, is that the power is gonna stay on across the entire state," he added.

Also read: More Than Diverse 9,000 Tree Species in Earth Are Yet to be Discovered, Study Finds

Low shed event

A 'low shed event' is a weather condition where grid managers are forced to signal utility companies to reduce power as frequency - or the rate at which current changes direction per second - continues to drop below normal levels - MailOnline explains.

While the storm continues to blanket much of the country with snow and cover roads in dangerous ice, the governor aims to assure that power remains across the state.

The current weather in Texas also impacted air travel throughout the state, cancelling hundreds of flights at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Down low, hundreds of drivers were trapped in their cars due to icy conditions where two major truck wrecks on a Texas interstate leaving cars stranded for more than 15 hours in below-freezing weather. On late Friday morning, the cars were finally freed.

On Thursday night, an 18-wheeler traveling westbound jackknifed across the interstate near Kerrville, blocking the highway on both sides, when a second truck also swerved off the highway and lost control on the icy road.

Also read: Fossil Site in Australia Reveals What Was Once a Temperate Rainforest Teeming with Life