Someone read āWind Through the Keyholeā and thinks a Starkblast is real.
Exploding š³š²š“š³š²š“š³š²š“š³
Submitted āØāØ16ā© āØhoursā© agoā© by āØfossilesque@mander.xyzā© to āØscience_memes@mander.xyzā©
https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/fe433e05-ddd4-4f96-af04-7e82d2363c11.jpeg
Comments
melsaskca@lemmy.ca āØ1ā© āØhourā© ago
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
-20F is -28C. I remember it hit -28C one time when I was a kid. I was walking around a forest and no trees exploded.
Bluewing@lemmy.world āØ44ā© āØminutesā© ago
Itās not a common thing. And they donāt āexplodeā as much as shatter. It does require enough sap to be up in the tree trunks too. And our trees are too smart to let that happen for the most part. But it can and does happen sometimes to thin spindly young trees.
Itās been pretty cold up here in far northern Minnesota since last Wednesday. With morning temps at -25F, -30F, -30F and -35F this morning. The high yesterday was -15F and a high of -5F today. Itās not the very low temps that bother anyone up here, itās the windchill that will kill you. Yesterday, the wind chills were running -35F to -60F. Which can cause frostbite to exposed skin in 5 minutes or less and possibly kill you very quickly.
On the upside, at these temps large amounts of snowfall are almost impossible. So I wonāt need to start a tractor and plow the mile and a half to the nearest plowed road.
Alabaster_Mango@lemmy.ca āØ14ā© āØhoursā© ago
Ok, I live in Alberta, Canada. I grew up in the woods of Northern Alberta. We can get week long bouts of -40°C/F and I have NEVER seen or heard of exploding trees in the area. Are American trees just weak, or is this fake?
Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com āØ7ā© āØminutesā© ago
The use of the word āexplodeā is misleading. Itās definitely misinformation.
Hereās an arborist talking about it, but basically:
Trees move sap and other liquids up and down their trunk from the soil underneath regularly. For trees like maples, this is where maple syrups comes from, except you have to collect a lot of sap and reduce it down to syrup.
The arborist claims that these liquids present in the tree when the temperature swings faster than the tree can respond expand due to freezing, which buckles tree trunks causing the outer bark to crack open and separate. The cracks can be from the ground up, or they can look like gashed in the side of the tree. Thereās moisture in the soil too, which can shift tree roots and cause similar cracking.
People say āexplodeā because thereās usually a popping sound when this happens.
In other contexts, people call this frost upheave. Engineers know about this phenomenon, and try to bury equipment like pipes and cable and conduit below the frost line so frost upheave doesnāt crack and break that stuff. With trees, this frost upheave just takes place inside trees themselves.
Bluewing@lemmy.world āØ36ā© āØminutesā© ago
The trees donāt āexplodeā but young spindly trees can shatter if the conditions are just right, (and they are not right now). Itās very rare to have happen.
Source: I live in northern Minnesota. And I live closer to Winnipeg than the Twin cities.
protist@mander.xyz āØ13ā© āØhoursā© ago
Iām going to guess it has to do with how quickly the temperature change occurs, or other environmental factors. It seems to be a somewhat rare occurrence, even in places where it gets very cold
SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world āØ12ā© āØhoursā© ago
In Alberta a chinook can make the temp go from -20 to 20 in a matter of hours, the same backwards.
prettybunnys@piefed.social āØ12ā© āØhoursā© ago
Trees further south have different conditions.
When we get cold snaps before 15f in the mid Atlantic tree sap that doesnāt usually freeze will freeze and limbs will pop. Iāve never seen a tree explode but Iāve definitely heard trees blowing limb and bits of themselves in the woods. Wind exacerbates the phenomenon
Slatlun@lemmy.ml āØ8ā© āØhoursā© ago
It isnāt common, and explode is an exaggeration for what I have seen - just cracked bark (though the crack was probably abrupt and loud). Montana gets some every now and again, so I am guessing at least some parts of Alberta do too. Nobody has made a big deal about it in the past outside of folks interested in trees. This is some weird media hype.
chuckleslord@lemmy.world āØ12ā© āØhoursā© ago
It was raining here two weeks ago. Temperatures were in the 20-30s earlier this week. Itās being far below freezing AND recent warm weather thatās the danger.
bryndos@fedia.io āØ3ā© āØhoursā© ago
I'd guess it's the species that grow there. If they regularly see -40C they'd have to have evolved to cope with it.
t could also be part of how they grow - i dunno maybe narrower / more flexible rings, better insulation, or better ways to store sap in winter conditions.
I assume this is in an area where such a temperature is very rare.
Most trees do have some radial cracks in them though - probably just some very rare cases those cracks get big enough for the tree to fall or split visibly on the outside and someone calls it an "explosion" for dramatic effect.
hector@lemmy.today āØ4ā© āØhoursā© ago
I have been in extreme cold and not heard of this either. When it gets below 0 f, they make noises, like cracking, but just noise.
janus2@lemmy.zip āØ15ā© āØhoursā© ago
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_tree
I⦠did not know about this previously
kamenlady@lemmy.world āØ14ā© āØhoursā© ago
CodingCarpenter@lemmy.ml āØ13ā© āØhoursā© ago
Looks like that scene from Jurassic Park. Now that is one big pile of tree
Doubleohdonut@lemmy.ca āØ12ā© āØhoursā© ago
Jurassic Bark (NOT Futurama)
logi@lemmy.world āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
-20°F is -29°C
(A handy thing to remember is that -40°F is -40°C)
TigerAce@lemmy.dbzer0.com āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
F or C?
Flauschige_Lemmata@lemmy.world āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
20° is close to the temperature where it doesnāt matter
9point6@lemmy.world āØ12ā© āØhoursā© ago
America. I shouldnāt need to tell you that trees exploding is a sign weāre not on the right path
MotoAsh@piefed.social āØ11ā© āØhoursā© ago
If it takes trees exploding and not ⦠everything else that tips you off, youāre either a fool or not paying attention, or both.
iatenine@piefed.social āØ14ā© āØhoursā© ago
Sometimes I think how Minnesota is ranked the least stressed state
Other times I just think how
Bluewing@lemmy.world āØ28ā© āØminutesā© ago
There is a tremendous amount of inner peace knowing that your environment can reach out and kill you if it chooses to and you are unlucky.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world āØ13ā© āØhoursā© ago
Maybe for the same reason that the Nordic countries are ranked as the happiest
BluJay320@lemmy.blahaj.zone āØ12ā© āØhoursā© ago
Beer and cheese
Bluewing@lemmy.world āØ30ā© āØminutesā© ago
Thatās Wisconsin⦠FTP! (If you know you know)
lessthanluigi@lemmy.sdf.org āØ10ā© āØhoursā© ago
Minnesota was super chill when I was there a couple years ago.
iatenine@piefed.social āØ9ā© āØhoursā© ago
In Minnesota, they call the state āMinipopā
Source: I make shit up
ilinamorato@lemmy.world āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
Looks like itās going to be super chill this weekend, too. Extra super chill, even.
MidsizedSedan@lemmy.world āØ7ā© āØhoursā© ago
Ignorant non-American here. Why are the trees east and west safe?
Iām guessing trees north are used to the cold, so wonāt explode, and south isnāt getting cold enough to explode. But what about east and west? (I already know the bare minimum of the US, but that central north region I know even less)
ilinamorato@lemmy.world āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
The United States is very big. If youāre from a smaller country (particularly if itās smaller east-to-west), it can be a little bit hard to comprehend how different the weather can be from one part of the country to another. While the weather does typically travel from West to East, it can change significantly along the way, and it usually takes several days to get from one coast to the other.
The highlighted area on the map is a massive region, wider than France and Germany put together (though much less populated). In fact, itās quite rare for even this much of the country to have the same weather pattern. The simplest answer to why trees to the east and west are safe is that itās not as cold there.
There are some other factors, too: just past the Western edge of the highlighted region are the Rocky Mountains, which significantly change weather patterns. The highlighted region consists of remarkably flat land (leveled by glacial action), meaning that thereās not much to break the wind as it sucks away the heat from the trees. To the East if this highlighted region are the Great Lakes, which also change weather patterns.
But the biggest answer is, itās just not as cold there. Cleveland, OH (at a similar latitude, but further to the East) is going to be almost 20°F warmer than this (which is still bone-chilling, but not tree-exploding), and Boise, ID (similar latitude but to the West) is going to be almost 40°F warmer (practically tropical! /s).
wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works āØ6ā© āØhoursā© ago
Lake effect probably prevents huge temperature swings further east, and there are mountains to the west, I believe. The problem is the flat area pictured.
hector@lemmy.today āØ4ā© āØhoursā© ago
Michigan can stay 30 degrees warmer in these polar snaps, just from the lakes warming the air, also creating lake effect snow. Not so much the upper penninsula but the lower.
Just the other day, 36 below in wi, only 6 below in mi.
ilinamorato@lemmy.world āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
Itās also worth noting, if youāre not familiar with the US map, that the city of Minneapolis (where the anti-ICE protests are happening right now) is right about where the bottom of the āRā in āTREEā is on this map.
daannii@lemmy.world āØ7ā© āØhoursā© ago
I always worry about the animals when we get these crazy cold times. How many die. Itās sad to think about.
fatalicus@lemmy.world āØ6ā© āØhoursā© ago
For native animals? Probably not that many, as they are adapted to the fact that it gets very cold.
Stray cats and dogs? Probably quite a few.
Bluewing@lemmy.world āØ41ā© āØminutesā© ago
At these temperatures, itās best to keep your ass and your petās asses inside and pray the furnace donāt quit.
PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de āØ6ā© āØhoursā© ago
Extreme outliers still kill many animals. I mean, forest fires are natural and still plenty of animals die.
Also, the trees are adapted to the cold. And theyāre exploding lol
Lumisal@lemmy.world āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
I donāt know if the polar vortex would go that far south so commonly in the past though. Climate change has made it wobble like crazy Iām recent years. Itās why we end up with warmer days in Finland now with no snow when it moves that way.
FiniteBanjo@feddit.online āØ15ā© āØhoursā© ago
Idk why the left side of ND is excluded, itās -36 in Williston today.
Bluewing@lemmy.world āØ27ā© āØminutesā© ago
Because you guys donāt have treesā¦
Manjushri@piefed.social āØ15ā© āØhoursā© ago
The trees have probably already exploded. Itās how they knew to warn those east of them.
Know_not_Scotty_does@lemmy.world āØ13ā© āØhoursā© ago
The danger of most things that explode, goes away once they explode.
halcyoncmdr@piefed.social āØ12ā© āØhoursā© ago
Itās probably more about large variances in temperature over a shorter period. If itās already -36 today and been similarly cold recently then the trees are already frozen. There isnāt a risk from internal liquid water freezing and expanding.
FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.com āØ13ā© āØhoursā© ago
Thatās a hell of a blast radius.
AmbiguousProps@lemmy.today āØ7ā© āØhoursā© ago
Love myself some Max
scala@lemmy.ml āØ47ā© āØminutesā© ago
Heās probably the best weather person out there. I love his hurricane live streams.
modus@lemmy.world āØ12ā© āØhoursā© ago
When I was a kid I read Brianās Winter, part of the Hatchet series. He was scared by explosions while alone in the winter woods and found out in the end that they were exploding trees. Never forgot about that concept, but I never bothered to look up how big a tree can be and explode.
PineRune@lemmy.world āØ5ā© āØhoursā© ago
This is exactly what came to mind for me as well! My second grade teacher read this and Hatchet to us. I remember him trying to figure out if it was from stray bullets from a hunterās gun or what was going on.
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world āØ13ā© āØhoursā© ago
ICE agents getting an interesting mix of Vietnam and Iraq.
21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com āØ11ā© āØhoursā© ago
And well, ice.
Zephorah@discuss.online āØ14ā© āØhoursā© ago
Cue a bunch of AI vids.
RustyNova@lemmy.world āØ15ā© āØhoursā© ago
Wood
Boom
Weād like to take moment to announce
Boom
ALL OUR TREE KEEP BLO-Boom
JasonDJ@lemmy.zip āØ14ā© āØhoursā© ago
You ever see The Boys? Season 2, Episode 7, "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker?
Like that. But trees.
HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com āØ10ā© āØhoursā© ago
Exploding ice risk
corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca āØ14ā© āØhoursā© ago
forecasted
\sigh
5715@feddit.org āØ13ā© āØhoursā© ago
Doed you not like this?
MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world āØ16ā© āØhoursā© ago
Donāt worry. They donāt actually explode.
TomMasz@lemmy.world āØ13ā© āØhoursā© ago
Definitely did not have this one on the olā bingo card.
Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com āØ19ā© āØminutesā© ago
The trees donāt actually explode. They crack open.
Words are meaningful