Catch The Wave: New York’s Icy Slushy Surfing Craze

The sport that is trending the most in New York State is not the Super Bowl, or pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training Baseball. The top trending sport in the Empire State is Slushy Surfing.

You know what a Slurpee is, right? That icy, slushy flavored treat that 7-Eleven has been selling for the last 50 years. Now, imagine an ocean filled with a saltwater Slurpee. That is what unusual weather patterns has created off the shores of Long Island, and surfers are loving it.

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Take a look at the video below to see watch surfers riding the slushy waves in Montauk, NY.  Surfing in New York is not usually the first thing that comes to mind for sports activities in the state, especially in the frigid month of February.

Read more; Did You Know New York Has An Ice Volcano

The Slushy-style waves in Montauk are caused by the extreme arctic weather we have been experiencing, which has caused the saltwater to partially freeze into a slushy consistency. The constant motion of the ocean swells prevents the water from turning into a solid sheet of ice.

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As exciting as it may be for surfers to have this once-in-a-lifetime experience, The Inertia warns that surfing Montauk’s slushy, ice-filled waves is highly dangerous. Surfers risk hypothermia, and injuries from ice chunks. Water temperatures can drop below 29°F, making it a high-risk, extreme cold-weather activity meant for experienced, properly geared surfers.

Hypothermia can develop in as little as 5 to 10 minutes in extreme cold with exposed skin, and within 10–15 minutes in freezing water.