Waves on US Beach Freeze Due to Intense Cold

The cold that hit the east coast of the United States was so intense that the waves of the beaches froze. The incredible phenomenon occurred in Nantucket, a US county located in Massachusetts. Photographer and surfer Jonathan Nimerfroh - who is fascinated with recording ocean images - told Live Science that the waves, while beautiful, though "heavier", could still be surfed. Nimerfroh said that, given such low temperatures, he expected the phenomenon to occur on the North American coast.

Reproduction / Jonathan Nimerfroh

On the morning of January 2nd, he went to Nobadeer Beach accompanied by two friends and together they witnessed what would be the slurpee waves , as they are popularly known. (or waves of ice cream). As his friends surfed the ice waves, almost completely enveloped in their neoprene outfits, the photographer captured the spectacular landscape.

Reproduction / Jonathan Nimerfroh

According to him, saltwater freezes only at -2 degrees Celsius and the Nantucket Sea was at -11 degrees Celsius at that time. In a story published on the site Smithsonian, oceanographer Carin Ashjian of the Woods Hole Institute of Oceanography, said that at temperatures below freezing, ice crystals are already forming in the water.

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" Slurpee waves are the kind of thing you only get a chance to see once in your life, so I'm very lucky to have seen this phenomenon twice, " said photographer Nimerfroh, who had his first encounter with these waves. in 2015. Scientists contacted by The New York Times stated that frozen waves are a very rare occurrence. Glacialist Erin Pettit of Alaska's Fairbanks University has told the Times that she has never seen such waves, since the tumultuous water usually breaks the ice.

Reproduction / Jonathan Nimerfroh

In addition to being a difficult phenomenon to happen, slurpee waves go away quickly. The temperature drop, which led to the freezing of the sea on Nobadeer Beach, was caused by a weather event formed on the US Atlantic coast in recent days, which has caused blizzards and freezing temperatures.