Conditions at Arica in January
January: Midsummer Baseline
January is the quietest month in Arica's surf calendar, but 'quiet' is relative. Average swell height drops to around 5ft (1.5m) with an average period of 12.6s, which still qualifies as powerful, long-period groundswell. The sweet spot? The 3-5ft (1-1.5m) and 5-6.5ft (1.5-2m) bands combine for roughly 94% of all waves, so expect consistent 4-6ft (1.2-1.8m) surf. Directionally, the ocean is almost entirely locked into the SW quadrant: 72.7% SW and 26.5% SSW, with only 0.7% WSW and zero W/WNW. That means the WNW-facing beach is receiving angled, wrapping southwest lines rather than true west-northwest groundswell. The onshore wind machine is already running on all cylinders: WSW (46.1%) and W (42.6%) dominate with another 8.1% WNW, all in the 0-20kph range. The ideal offshore score is 0%. With air at 22.8°C and water at 20.9°C, it's warm and dry, but expect textured, lumpy conditions through most of the day. Dawn patrol is the play.
Average Spot conditions at Arica in January
Swell history for January
Wind history for January
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Arica during January. Based on historical data, there is a % probability of groundswell occurring this month. The chart below provides a detailed breakdown of the average wave height distribution, offering deep insights into the swell quality and surf potential you can expect at Arica for your next trip in January.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Arica for January. Our analysis shows that favorable offshore or side-shore winds coincide with surfable swell approximately % of the time. The accompanying graph illustrates the average size distribution of waves during these optimal wind windows at Arica.