Surfing just after Storm Ciara this week, Hannah Bristow enjoyed an advanced session on the left at The Wave. She also lucked (or unlucked) into a brief snow/hail/sleet tempest that blew through.

The stylish goofyfoot from the southwest had a few sessions in Bristol that day. She got several waves back-to-back but this one will always be remembered, mostly because Image Cabin photographer Dan Mullins was on hand to capture the moment.

Hannah, who also hosts popular YouTube channel Kelly Says Surf, explains what happened…

“It was the worst storm the UK has had in seven years,” says Bristow. “It’s storm Ciara and the gusts were 70 mph that day at The Wave in Bristol and this happened during the advanced session about 2 pm. Normally there are 15 people in the lineup on the weekends, but there were just two of us this hour. It was windy and cloudy but not raining. Then during the break between sets, it started hailing really hard which turned to sleet which had some snow in it. So it was a hail/sleet/snow thing. The hail was quite painful actually. Luckily I had a hood on but it was a bit painful.”

“The photographer, Dan Mullins, was mainly taking photos of the right and he was getting pelted,” continues Hannah. “I caught 12 waves and this was the one wave he got photos of on the left. I couldn’t tell what was going on during the wave because I couldn’t see. I crouched for the barrel to try to get a tube and maybe some shelter from the hail haha. And the hail/sleet/snow lasted, literally, for five minutes then once it passed everything was quiet. It was super calm for a few minutes. And the wave afterward was glassy and I got a barrel.”

You can find more of Dan’s photography here…