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Salt Lake City, UT – Residents from Salt Lake City to Provo could soon hear thunder-like booms or feel brief vibrations through the ground as temperatures plunge this week. According to the Utah Geological Survey, these startling sounds are likely frost quakes — natural cracking events that occur when frozen ground suddenly splits under pressure.
Known scientifically as cryoseisms, frost quakes happen when rain, melting snow, or groundwater seeps into the soil, then freezes too fast during a sharp cold snap. As that trapped moisture expands into ice, it builds immense underground pressure until the ground suddenly fractures, releasing energy in a quick, explosive burst…