Praia do Silveira • Statistics for April

April: First Real Groundswell of the Year

April is when Praia do Silveira starts to feel like a surf destination again. The average period climbs to 9.0s and the swell mix becomes much more spread out, with ESE (21.4 percent), SE (20.2 percent), E (19.4 percent), and SSE (15.9 percent) all well represented. S and SSE now combine for over 25 percent of all swell, a signature of the first strong cold fronts moving up the South American coast. These systems generate longer-period energy that still finds the beach, especially when the direction veers to SE/ESE. Ideal wind time increases to 30 percent, the highest since last autumn. While NNE winds are still the most common single direction (17.8 percent), N and NNW are also present, and the offshore WSW/W/NW quadrant accounts for roughly 4 percent of the wind. More importantly, light wind and post-frontal westerly mornings become more frequent. Average swell height is 1.3m (4ft), but sets in the 1.5-2m range are now common, especially on S/SE groundswell pulses. Air temps drop to 20.9°C and water temp falls to 23.4°C-the season is definitely turning.