You don’t want to go outdoors when it’s below 30°F. Some folks don’t mind the cold at all, even if it means swimming in a frigid ocean. On January 2nd, Nick Hayden and Jamie Briard went surfing. To capture the mad surfers enjoying this unusual event of frozen Slurpee-like waves, photographer Jonathan Nimerfroh joined in.
Although going in the water at 12°F (-11°C) may not seem appealing, both surfers had a ball. With his description, Nimerfroh ran up and down the coast, shooting shots while they hooted and held up enormous icebergs over their heads in neoprene-clad hands. The photographer considers himself “very lucky” to have seen the Slurpee waves twice (see our first post about it here).
The ice crystals grow in the ocean waves as the temperature drops below 28.4°F (-2°C). The waves were Slurpee-like for almost 3 hours, according to the photographer.
They were sighted on January 2nd near Nantucket’s Nobadeer Beach.
This unusual occurrence occurs in the cold (below 28.4°F/-2°C) and calm ocean waters.
They are also surfable.
Photographer Jonathan Nimerfroh photographed it.
But the surfers didn’t care about the chilly 12°F (-11°C) water.
Nick Hayden and Jamie Briard used full-coverage wetsuits to avoid the bitter cold.
When Nimerfroh initially photographed the waves in 2015, the images went viral.
“Slurpee waves are something you only get to experience once. Therefore I consider myself extremely lucky,” said the photographer.
The Slurpee waves don’t last long. After 3 hours, the photographer said the ocean had returned to normal.
