At a Glance

At least 173 sea turtles were found dead over the Thanksgiving weekend alone.In total, 600 cold-stunned turtles have been recovered so far this fall. Of those, more than 250 have died. Scientists believe a warming trend in the Gulf of Maine has caused the turtles to delay migration south.

Dozens of sea turtles were discovered frozen to death on beaches and in waters off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, this week and scientists say climate change may be to blame.

In addition to the reported 173 sea turtles found dead over the Thanksgiving weekend, Jenette Kerr, communications coordinator for Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, told weather.com that nearly have been recovered since the season began on Oct. 22. Of those, more than 250 have died.

"We have many more dead ones than we usually do at this stage of the fall because of a two-day cold snap over Thanksgivingwhenvirtually every turtle that became stranded was frozen to death," Kerr said. "We are on track for this to be our second busiest cold-stun season in the 30 years we've been at this."

On Nov. 22 and 23, temperatures dropped several degrees below average in the Boston area, weather.com meteorologist Chris Dolce said. The brutal cold immobilized hundreds of turtles, including Kemp’s Ridley turtles, the most critically endangered sea turtles in the world.

“It was like they were flash-frozen, like they were swimming,” Robert Prescott, director of Mass Audubon told the Cape Cod Times.

Prescott says he believes the sea turtles succumbed to the Thanksgiving cold snap because they shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Turtles are cold-blooded, tropical creatures that feed off New England during the summer months. They prefer temperatures in the 75-to-85-degree range. As temperatures drop in the northern part of their territory, they migrate south towards warmer waters.

(MORE:)

Prescott says he believes a warmingtrend in the Gulf ofMaine caused the turtles to delay their departure.

Prescott told the Cape Cod Times that once water temperatures fall below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the turtles become immobilized as their metabolism slows and can succumb to the cold. On Tuesday, the water temperature near Woods Hole on Cape Cod was , according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Prescott said the turtles' plight is exacerbated because the shape of the bay can confuse the turtles when it comes time to migrate.

"The problem here is that they can’t get out of Cape Cod Bay in time," Prescott said.

Wallace Nichols, a sea turtle biologist and research associate at the California Academy of Sciences, told NBC News the sea turtles' habitat is expanding and moving .

“So when we get these quick swings from warm to cooler, the turtles that haven’t made it south definitely get into trouble," Nichols said, adding that“climate change is impacting sea turtles very clearly."