While the noise may be alarming, this normally doesn’t cause any damage to your roof. Ice refreezing on the roof - Ice that forms or refreezes on your roof can make booms and loud cracking sounds as the ice expands under the layer of ice already there.Damaged pipes can be very costly to repair, but if you leave your water faucets lightly running during extremely cold days and nights, you can help prevent your pipes from cracking. Exploding pipes - Water in pipes can freeze, causing them to expand and possibly crack or even explode.Be sure to remove any branches growing near your home, over your driveway, and other areas where lives or property could be at risk from falling branches. It may be useful to winter proof your trees by pruning back weaker branches before winter weather sets in. Trees and branches falling because of ice buildup - Ice is heavy, and enough of it can weigh down tree branches to the point of snapping.Right now, thats the case in the Midwest, where many spots were recently covered with snow that then. Expansion and contraction can cause loud creaks, booms, and squeaks. The 'frost quake' weather phenomenon occurs when the ground is saturated with water or ice. While this is a natural occurrence, expanding and contracting can cause or exacerbate cracks or other superficial damage. House expanding and contracting - Temperature extremes can cause a house’s siding, roofing, and flooring to contract (in cold) and expand (with warming).Arcing or transformer failures can cause massive booms. Once electrical lines make contact with each other or with a tree, the ground, or another object, it can cause an arc or short circuit, damaging electrical equipment. Exploding transformers - Blowing transformers are usually caused by ice forming on the wires.Thankfully, there are ways to prevent ice dams on your roof. Heavy ice falling from your roof - Ice that falls from your roof can cause a crashing sound just outside your home.Here are several other unusual things that often happen in extremely cold conditions that can cause booms, creaks, squeaks, and other odd noises: Other Things That Can Cause Loud Winter BoomsĬryoseisms are significant, although unusual, phenomena that can cause intensely loud noises during the winter. SHENGQIPC Reusable Ice Cube, Fake Plastic Refreezable Silicone Ice Cubes for Drinks, Wine Non Melting Cooling Artificial Ice Cubes for Coolers, Pack of 70, Colorful. Glacier cryoseisms have been reported in Alaska, Greenland, Ross Island, and other glacial areas. Thankfully, most ice quakes are less intense than 6.0 magnitude. Cracks and fissures may also occur as the ground separates during the event. Sometimes, they can even cause geological changes due to the shifting of soil and rocks. Tectonic shaking of magnitude of 6.0 can move heavy furniture, cause plaster to crack and fall, and create other minor damage. That’s a magnitude 6.0, or “strong” seismic intensity. That depends on what is meant by the word “dangerous.”Īre ice quakes able to cause damage? Yes. In fact, they’ve been known to cause damage as strong as VI on the Modified Mercalli Seismic Intensity Scale. Ice Quakes & Ice Booms: Are They Dangerous? I also uncovered many other issues we should worry about when it comes to extremely cold winter weather. I did some research to find out if we should be concerned about the damage that ice quakes could potentially do.

So if the ground is exploding like this, should we be worried? If ice quakes are so powerful that they can cause extremely loud booms - ice booms - then doesn’t it mean there’s the potential for some serious damage or destruction to foundations, homes, roads, buildings, and swimming pools? The Weather Channel includes cryoseismic booms on its list of 8 Natural Wonders You’ve Never Heard Of. Glacial movements can also lead to ice quakes and ice booms. Tectonic shaking of magnitude of 6.0 can move heavy furniture, cause plaster to crack and fall, and create other minor damage. When this happens, the results can be explosive - and quite startling. In fact, they’ve been known to cause damage as strong as VI on the Modified Mercalli Seismic Intensity Scale.That’s a magnitude 6.0, or strong seismic intensity. Scientifically known as a cryoseism, an ice quake (or frost quake) is a rare but surprising phenomenon that is caused when water seeps into the ground and then quickly freezes and expands, cracking the ground around it. If you’re experiencing extremely cold winter weather, then you might be hearing ice quakes - also called frost quakes. Have you heard a loud boom outside recently? If you buy thru these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Forced apart by this violent occurrence, one family must find each other during the holidays and work to stop the deadly rivers that could cause a worldwide catastrophy.This post may contain affiliate links. As the permafrost melts in Alaska, underground rivers of volatile liquid methane form which sets off a series of devastating earthquakes.

Ice quake fab