Palmeira • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (October - March)

Palmeira's most consistent and powerful surf windows come during the Northern Hemisphere winter, from October through March. The North Atlantic storm track ramps up and sends long-period swells marching toward Cape Verde; the data shows average swell heights peaking at 2.2-2.3m (7-8ft) with periods in the 11.4-11.7s range. This is when the spot sees its highest percentage of NNW swell, the direction that lines up best with the west-northwest-facing beach. However, the trade wind machine also fires, and the NE wind blows onshore a large percentage of the time. The best days are the classic shoulder-high-to-overhead grinders that arrive under the rare E/SE offshore flow or a light/variable wind.

Fair Surf Season (April - May & September)

The transition months of April and May are still full of swell, with averages from 1.8-2.0m (6-7ft), but period drops from 11s to the 8-10s range and the swell angle shifts increasingly out of the NNE. Clean conditions remain scarce as the trade wind is at its strongest, so the wave quality suffers. September is the reverse transition: the ocean wakes up from the summer lull, periods stretch back toward 9-10s and offshore wind windows are more frequent, making it a solid, underrated shoulder-season month.

Low Surf Season (June - August)

The summer months of June, July and August represent the low point of the year for raw swell energy. The average height drops to 1.4-1.6m (4-5ft), periods sit mostly in the 8s, and the swell direction becomes overwhelmingly NNE, which doesn't groom as well into Palmeira's west-northwest aspect. The silver lining is that the trades weaken and the percentage of ideal offshore wind rises to 24-30 percent, offering cleaner, smaller, more playful sessions on the sets that make it round the points.