Incredibly Frozen ‘Slurpee’ Waves Spotted On The Coast Of Nantucket

Incredibly Frozen ‘Slurpee’ Waves Spotted On The Coast Of Nantucket The air was so cold, that the waves froze on Nobadeer Beach in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Credit: Jonathan Nimerfroh/jdnphotography.com

The cold that's gripping the U.S. East Coast has created a magical phenomenon in Nantucket, Massachusetts: Slurpee waves.

When the temperature gets below 30°F, the last thing you want to do is go outside. However, some people aren’t bothered by cold at all, so much so they don’t mind taking a dip in a literally freezing ocean. On January 2nd Nick Hayden and Jamie Briard got into their wetsuits and went out surfboarding.

Their friend, photographer Jonathan Nimerfroh, joined in with his camera in order to capture the crazy surfers enjoying this rare phenomenon of frozen, Slurpee-like waves.
Although the idea of getting in the water when it’s only 12°F (-11°C) doesn’t sound fun at all, both surfers had a blast. “[They were] hooting and hollering and holding up giant icebergs above their heads in neoprene gloved hands,” described Nimerfroh, who was running up and down the shore the whole time taking pictures.

The photographer counts himself as “very lucky” as it is the second time he’s witnessed the Slurpee waves.

The air was so cold on Jan. 2, 2018, that the waves froze on Nobadeer Beach in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Credit: Jonathan Nimerfroh/jdnphotography.com

The ice crystals form in the ocean waves when the temperature gets below 28.4°F (-2°C), which is the freezing point of salt water. Still, the waters are usually too restless for the ice particles to appear, so this occurrence is extremely rare and often short-lived – the photographer told Live Science that the Slurpee-like consistency of the waves lasted only for about 3 hours.