Severe cold temperatures hitting much of the country this week could branch out − literally.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has forecast "life-threatening cold" and the potential for wind chills as low as minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 46 degrees Celsius) across the Northern Plains.

"I've never seen the damage of it, but from what I have seen and what I read online is that it is rare for there just to be so much pressure that is suddenly released inside this tree that it almost d...