Cold weather also means that water in the tree's plumbing system freezes and dangerous bubbles form in the ice from gases that were previously dissolved in the liquid water.
These sounds can best be heard in the beginning of the winter just as the lake has frozen to ice. As the surface of the ice gets thicker, it creates a strong tension in the ice until it cracks.
More than 65 million people across 29 states from as far west as California to as far east as Maine were under winter weather alerts, warning of heavy snow, severe icing, extreme cold.