Weatherwatch: Frazil ice delivers slurpees to Nantucket

Massachusetts enjoyed some extra crushed ice this month as a cold snap of -11C - and specific ocean movements - brought slush laden waves to the beachThe recent cold snap in the US produced some unusual weather phenomena, including waves of icy slush. Nicknamed "slurpee waves" after an American ice-slush fizzy drink, the waves were spotted in a bay in Nantucket, Massachusetts, early in January. The temperature had fallen to -11C (12.2F), well below the freezing point of sea water. Small particles of sea ice, known as frazil ice, had started to form, but the action of the waves prevented them from aggregating into sheets. This slush is more viscous than water, so the waves move in slow motion and are eerily quiet, the usual sound of crashing surf being completely muffled. Continue reading...