It's been an unusually mild winter here in the Northeast–we've made it to March without a significant storm. While most people are happy to have avoided the bitter cold and heavy snow, regional surfers were facing a bleak prospect: winter coming to an end without a single day of the kind of spectacular surf that makes the season stand out.

That all changed this past weekend, when a low pressure system pushed off the Mid-Atlantic on Friday and tracked northeast on Saturday. Before it trailed off into the Canadian Maritime and North Atlantic region, it strengthened to the point of producing hurricane-force winds. This wound up sending plenty of swell to the whole Western Atlantic seaboard, from the Northeast to the Caribbean.

Long Island's East End proved the ideal spot to appreciate the storm's effects. Its south facing orientation and rock bottom points helped shape the swells, which were further groomed by strong offshore winds. A hearty local crew of surfers wound up catching some of the most epic and impressive rides we've seen in quite some time.

Native Montauk photographer James Katsipis documented the action all day Saturday, and provided us with this visual recap. James was born and raised in Montauk, and uses the East End as his canvas, depicting local life on land and sea year round.