HUBBARD TWP., Ohio - Police in Hubbard and Liberty townships early Wednesday investigated reports of gunfire or the sounds of someone kicking-in doors that may have been caused by a weather-related phenomenon and the only likely “victims” were trees.

Officers were first called out shortly before 1 am to a home on Schotten Road SE in Hubbard Township after two people reported hearing what sounded like a loud gunshot.  Police searched the nearby woods and found no footprints in the show.

Just over fifteen minutes road, a woman called Trumbull 911 from Sodom Hutchings Road in Liberty, saying she heard two loud noises.  She believed someone may have been kicking in the door that leads to her basement from the outside.  Police went to the home and said it appeared to be secure.

Shortly before 2:30 am police were again called to the Schotten Road home. This time a caller called 911 in a whispered voice reporting that it sounded like someone was kicking in the door to their home.  After the dispatcher told everyone in the home to lie on the ground, the phone line went dead.

Dispatch called the phone again, the caller whispered that someone may be in the house. Police arrived and found no evidence of a break-in.

Just after 2:30 am, Hubbard and Liberty Police were called to Spartan Contracting on West Liberty Street in Hubbard Township to investigate reports of someone possibly firing shots behind the building.

Officers looked behind the building and found no broken glass or other damage.

It was then that one of the officers determined that the sounds were likely the result of something that is known as “frost cracking”.

According to Arbor Experts of Dayton, Ohio, when temperatures drop to below freezing like they did early Wednesday when the mercury fell to near zero, a natural occurrence that is known as “frost cracking” can take place.

Tree bark, warmed by the afternoon sun, begins to shrink when the temperatures drop after dark.  The inner wood, however, takes longer to adjust to the temperature change. The bark freezes and contracts, causing the bark and the wood to split, sometimes making a loud sound that is many times compared to a rifle shot.