"I went to sleep in Cape May and woke up in Alaska," said Dennis Flanagan, as he scanned the ice that formed along the coastline of Sunset Beach Tuesday evening.

Flanagan, a West Cape May resident, braved the frigid temperatures and sustained winds to take pictures of the sun as it set behind an Arctic-like scene that has become of the Delaware Bay.

Bitter temperatures have caused the bay to start freezing along the shoreline of Cape May.

At Sunset Beach, ice has formed up to the S.S. Atlantus, which sits approximately 150 feet off the coast. Behind the sunken concrete ship, however, chunks of ice ride the current.

This spectacle drew many curious spectators, as many could not keep their excitement on ice as they made their way to see the breathtaking sights.

"How is this possible?" said a young girl as she ran to see the elaborate ice forms just off the shoreline.

"It's so cool," said another.

Look for the ice to stay in place over the next few days as a temperatures are expected to stay below freezing through the weekend.

The temperatures in New Jersey normally reaches a high of 38 to 42 degrees in early January.

The National Weather Service is currently calling for 4 to 6 inches of snow in coastal sections of New Jersey, from Monmouth County down to Cape May County starting Wednesday night.

Tim Hawk may be reached at thawk@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @photogthawk. Find NJ.com on Facebook.