Texans are witnessing 'exploding trees' they say sound 'like gunshots going off' amid brutal winter storm

• Texans are hearing popping and snapping noises outside as winter storm Landon passes through.
• "We listened to them all night," one resident told KXAS-TV. "Sounds like gunshots going off."

Texans say they're witnessing "exploding trees" as winter storm Landon continues to tear through the state.

Residents told NBC affiliate KXAS-TV that they've been hearing popping and snapping noises outside. Cold weather can cause water in a tree's sap to freeze and expand, weighing down a tree's limb and forcing it to break off, creating an exploding noise in the process.

"We listened to them all night," Texas resident Lauren Reber told KXAS-TV. "Sounds like gunshots going off."

For days, Texans have been preparing for the onslaught of cold weather expected from Landon.

Gov. Greg Abbott warned Texans earlier this week that the storm could cause power outages and other disruptions. On account of "widespread freezing rain, ice and snow," Abbott issued a disaster declaration on Thursday.

"No one can guarantee that there won't be a 'low shed event,'" Abbott said on Tuesday, referencing a condition when frequency drops so low that grid managers tell utility companies to reduce power. "But what we will work and strive to achieve, and what we're prepared to achieve, is that the power is gonna stay on across the entire state."

Reber told KXAS-TV that she lost electricity because of the storm.

"Our only means of heat right now is our propane heater because all of our firewood's frozen," Reber said.

Across the country, the storm has dumped snow and blanketed roads in ice. In some states, hundreds of thousands of people have found themselves without power, according to the Weather Channel.

In Texas, the inclement weather has also significantly impacted air travel, canceling hundreds of flights taking off from and landing at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, according to FlightAware data on Friday.