Are Minnesota's trees in danger of "exploding" in impending cold snap? Not so fast, WCCO meteorologist says.

As Minnesotans, along with much of the rest of the nation, hunker down for a brutally cold stretch of January weather, a new winter concern is starting to go viral on social media.

On Wednesday, social media personality Max Velocity, a "degreed meteorologist" according to his own bio, posted a graphic showing the entirety of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states to be under an "exploding tree risk."

"EXPLODING TREES are possible in the Midwest and Northern Plains on Friday and Saturday, as temperatures are forecasted to fall 20 degrees BELOW zero," the account breathlessly warned.

Since its posting on X, the post has reportedly been seen nearly 7 million times, according to the site's own metrics.

WCCO meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says, while it is true that trees can be affected by swings in cold temperatures, the idea that a cold snap would lead to "exploding trees" is not scientifically accurate, at least not in the way the viral post seems to be suggesting.

"(The post is) definitely clickbait, but yes, the water in trees can expand if it freezes rapidly," Augustyniak said.

Augustyniak said that, with so many cold days now behind us this winter season, any water inside the state's trees would have frozen many weeks ago.

"If this was a snap cooldown, after a milder period, then it would be more likely" to see the potential for tree damage due to extreme temperatures, Augustyniak said. "Going from negative 3 to negative 20 is not a big deal."

So perhaps give those surveillance cameras a rest.