Minneapolis, MN – As arctic air sweeps across the state, residents from Minneapolis to Duluth could soon hear sharp booms echoing through frigid winter nights. According to the Minnesota Geological Survey, those startling sounds are likely frost quakes — sudden cracking events caused by the rapid freezing of water-saturated ground.
Known scientifically as cryoseisms, frost quakes occur when rain or melting snow seeps into the soil and freezes too quickly. As the trapped moisture expands into ice, it builds immense pressure until the frozen ground suddenly splits, releasing energy with a thunder-like crack.
Meteorologists say Minnesota’s current weather pattern is ideal for frost quakes: wet ground, minimal snow cover, and extreme temperature drops from above freezing to well below zero in a matter of hours. These conditions are expected this week across central and northern Minnesota, where overnight lows could dip to –10°F.
Frost quakes are most common between midnight and dawn, when temperatures hit their lowest point. While rarely dangerous, they can rattle homes, shake windows, and sometimes leave small cracks in pavement or frost heaves in yards.
Experts recommend checking drainage and clearing water away from foundations before the next cold snap to minimize frost-quake risk.
So if you hear a thunderous boom on a still, icy night from Minneapolis to Duluth, it’s not an explosion — it’s Minnesota’s frozen ground cracking under winter’s deep chill.
