Boston, MA – If you’re startled by loud booms echoing through the night as temperatures plunge, you’re not alone. Residents from Boston to Worcester may soon experience frost quakes — natural underground cracking events caused by rapidly freezing soil.
According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), frost quakes, also known as cryoseisms, happen when rain or melting snow saturates the ground and then freezes too quickly. As that moisture turns to ice, it expands and puts immense pressure on surrounding soil and rock until it suddenly splits — producing a sharp, thunder-like crack.
Meteorologists say Massachusetts is poised for ideal frost-quake conditions this winter. After a wetter-than-usual fall, much of the ground remains saturated. With little snow cover to insulate the soil and strong arctic fronts expected to send temperatures from the 30s into the teens or single digits overnight, conditions are “perfect for frost quakes,” forecasters say.
While these events are harmless to most structures, residents have reported hearing what sounds like distant explosions or feeling faint tremors during extreme cold. They tend to occur between midnight and dawn, when temperatures reach their lowest.
Experts recommend improving yard drainage and moving water away from foundations before the next deep freeze.
So if you’re awakened by a sudden boom on a calm, clear night from Boston to Worcester, it’s not thunder — it’s winter itself, cracking beneath your feet.
