Cayo Coco • Statistics for January

January: Waiting on the Post-Frontal North Pulse

January is the middle of the winter season and the most promising month of the year at Cayo Coco, at least in relative terms. The swell spectrum is still dominated by trade-wind seas from the east and east-northeast, which together account for over 55% of all waves, but the optimal northerly quadrant (N, NNW and NW) reaches about 15% of the total - the largest seasonal footprint of the year. Most of that north energy arrives in the 1.6-3.3ft (0.5-1m) range, with a small amount reaching 3.3-4.9ft (1-1.5m). The average wave period is 3.4s, however, so almost everything is short-period windswell: choppy and low rather than powerful groundswell. Winds are heavily weighted from the ENE and E, blowing at 20-40kph nearly half the time, which puts a cross-onshore wrinkle on the lineup. Ideal offshore winds from the S/SSW/SW are present only about 2% of the time, usually in the wake of a cold front. When that post-frontal window coincides with a NNW pulse, Cayo Coco can offer clean, fun-sized 2-3ft (0.6-0.9m) peaks. Air temperatures average 23.8°C and water temperatures sit at a warm 25.3°C, so it is a shirtsleeve winter instead of a hood-and-bootie winter.