It's so cold in Texas trees are exploding and sounding like gunshots. I wonder what kind of trees these are that the sap freezes so fast. Interesting! Sounds like an opportunity for firewood scrounging. Speaking of firewood, one resident said she can't heat with wood because her firewood is frozen. She definitely needs to season it, I'd be curious to see what a moisture meter would show. It's so cold in Texas that trees are exploding, sounding "like gunshots"
That happens here as well. The last time I heard it was in 2014 when the temperatures were -10° or better at night and never above 0° in the day for several days. One other thing that can cause that sound is the ground freezing and cranking, which can even cause houses to shake.
Our deck in VT does that when it gets into the single digits and below. It’s woken me up from a sound sleep. Rather startling!
If I’m not mistaken, Texas has the most guns per capita of any state. How would anyone ever know that it was a tree exploding and not the constant gunfire?
I noticed in the last couple weeks when we had a good stretch of cold weather, that the loudest trees in my backyard were the hickories right over my property line. They're forest grown so very tall and straight, with a narrow crown way at the top of the trunk. Whenever a stiff wind would come barreling through, I'd hear them creaking and I was almost wishing for one of them to splinter apart and land in my yard
We had the 'frost quakes' here about 10 years ago. I never knew it was a thing till it was on the news the next day. At first it sounded like someone was throwing sticks at the house. I looked all around the next morning and there wasn't a sign of anything unusual. People's foundations cracked, and driveways were upheaved.
What kind of tree's sap freezes so fast, they bulge and snap? Maybe it is a northern thing, but I haven't seen that happen around here, and I could see it happening here before Texas.
Sounds like the book "The Hatchet"! I read it but didn't think it was actually possible. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
This is another thing, from the article linked above. "her only means of heat is a propane heater, because her firewood is frozen, as well as the heater in her SUV, which also allows her to power her phone." I never knew of wood to actually have that much moisture to freeze, unless it was left in water.
That happens here all the time and doesn't seem to hurt the trees. The walls in the house even do it on really cold nights.
I've never tried to pinpoint any particular tree but it always seems no matter the woods, when it get cold you will hear the popping.
I saw that years ago, 45 years, in Colorado when I was in college. The outside temps dropped so much so fast that trees, scrub oaks and Pinion pine split apart.
I'm wondering if her firewood being frozen means its all covered in a sheet of ice? Frozen to the ground. Her barn collapsed from a sheet of ice, so maybe that's what she's dealing with.
X2 Remember when ex and i bought our house in Wallingford Winter of 2000. Some real cold nights the first month and we would hear the loud pops and at the time couldnt figure out what it was. Does it here sometimes too. It is loud!
