On a viral post on X-formerly-Twitter, Schuster — who holds a meteorology degree and goes by “Max Velocity” on social media — declared an area of “exploding tree risk” across the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Michigan.

Local meteorologists warned that when coupled with wind chill, temperatures would feel as cold as minus 54 degrees. The temperatures are life-threatening to humans and can also cause trees to "explode," according to a meteorologist who warned of the phenomenon on X on Tuesday night.

Will it get so cold that the trees in your yard explode and fall over? Here's the weather science behind all the "exploding tree" talk.

A tree-mendous freeze. Forecasters are warning that expected subzero temperatures could cause trees to explode as a brutal cold snap is expected to wallop most of the country in the coming days. Trees may split and burst across the Midwest and Northern Plains Friday and Saturday as a bitter Arctic blast from Canada sends temperatures plunging to roughly 20 degrees below zero,

Molly Cavaleri, a professor in tree physiology at MTU, says trees can explode, but it’s very rare and not likely to happen under the current conditions in the U.P.