When first settling down on Hatteras Island, I was impressed how temperate the winters were. Those first few years, temperatures never dipped below 40°. By1977 though, that changed when I saw the Pamlico Sound freeze. Combined with high winds and humidity, it made life uncomfortable, especially since I heated with a tiny wood stove. Still in my early twenties, I was a lot tougher then.

Exceptionally cold winters seem to come in cycles. This year was a pretty good one. We had only a couple inches of snow, while up north it was measured in feet. Locally temperatures dropped to 22° with wind chills of single digits.

Behind my house, that was enough to get Pamlico Sound to freeze out 200 yards from the shoreline. It was unusual, yet not totally unheard of.

In the past, I’ve seen it freeze hard for as far as one can see. In 1996, it did just that. It was thick enough for Gary Midgett to drive his truck out on it.

Temperatures were in the teens when I drove out to the beach. Waves lapped on shore freezing instantly. The atmosphere had an eerie, static feeling. I set up my 2 ¼ film camera on a tripod in the bed of my Dodge, snapping several exposures of the rare frosty scene.

I shot the ocean as the sun set behind me. It was and still is the coldest day I’ve experienced on Hatteras Island.