It is indeed possible for trees to split apart in extreme conditions and to do so quite noisily, she said, typically when there’s a big swing in temperatures. In these instances, sap rapidly freezes when the mercury plummets and the tree expands, its trunk or limbs busting open like the buttons on a too-tight shirt after Thanksgiving dinner.

North Jerseyans should be aware of the effects of extreme cold this weekend, from frostbite and numbness to ... exploding trees?

What some people call “tree explosions,” scientists call “frost cracks,” Seiler said.