Loud booms believed to be frost quakes
Administrator | Dec 27, 2013 | Comments 5
The loud booms heard Christmas Eve were not Santa and his reindeer hitting the roof, but are believed to be “frost quakes” or Cyroseisms.
Twitter and Facebook were rampant with comments about loud noises outside homes from about supper time through to midnight – booms, loud cracks.
Cyroseisms are rare, localized seismic events that occur when a sudden drop in temperature freezes groundwater, which then expands and cracks the soil and rock. The crack will release a sudden burst of explosive energy, resulting in a loud noise and the shaking of the ground. They usually occur between midnight and dawn.
A cryoseism, also known as a frost quake, does happen frequently after ice storms and are not common but are more common near the Great Lakes.
Temperatures dropped to the -17 to -20 degree range Tuesday evening which lead to the frost quakes causing cracks and craters in the snow and ice on some people’s properties.
Filed Under: Local News
Oh, look… a resident conspiracy theorist…
So Mick, what is your expert take on what the sounds are? The perfectly scientific, logical explanation doesn’t work for you so perhaps you can enlighten us on what you think it was.
In West Lake, my son heard a loud crack followed by a boom overnight. We looked around next day for a fallen tree but no. Yesterday I found a crack in the icey snow that ran from our neighbour’s house, through our backyard and split going under our house and off to the garden and cemetary behind. The ice crack appeared at the front of the house continuing to the road. No cracks in the basement thankfully.
It was no frost quake. officials lie constantly to keep you from asking questions.
We had two of these overnight Christmas Eve … one at 1ish and one at around 4 a.m. Son found major ice cracks on our property and leading back into the bush … interested to see if the rock is cracked as well.
Heard mine at 5:41 am. Next morning saw a 1″ crack in the snow running from the woods behind the house, under the house, to the road out front. Had no idea what could have caused it, now i
Know. Thanks CountyLive! Hope you and yr families were safe and warm and had a Happy Christmas! Wishing you all the best in 2014.