Bells Beach • Statistics for October

October: A Shoulder to the Wind

October is a true shoulder month at Bells. The average swell height remains healthy at 1.3m (4ft), and the average period is still solid at 12.3 seconds. SW swell continues to dominate at 51.5%, with SSW at 27.5% and WSW at 5.9%, so the winter groundswell machinery has not completely shut down. The 1-1.5m range is the largest swell class, but there are still notable 1.5-2m and 2-2.5m pulses from the SW.

Ideal offshore wind drops to 38%, as the spring pattern brings more E to SE sea breeze days, rain systems, and changing pressure gradients. W and WNW winds are still present at 11.7% and 11.4%, and NNW adds 8.3%, giving early-morning clean windows. Water temperature begins to rise from the winter low at 14.2°C, air temperatures warm to 13.3°C and precipitation averages 2.20 mm/day. The windows are less consistent than mid-winter, but the right combination of long-period SW swell and NW offshore wind still produces excellent Bells waves.