Conditions at Sylt in December
December: Midwinter Size and Wintry Chaos
December brings peak winter size to Sylt, with an average swell height of 5.6ft (1.7m) and a 6.8-second average period, tied with January for the longest of the year. This is the North Sea in full storm mode: NW (12.1%), WSW (10.7%), W (10.4%) and WNW (9.7%) swells pile into the west-facing island, and the height distribution spans everything from clean, rippable 3-5ft (1-1.5m) waves to serious 6.5-8ft (2-2.5m) sets and occasional 8ft+ (2.5m+) heavy days. The trade-off is wind. Onshore WSW-W-WNW-NW winds total 31.6% of conditions, and winter gales can reduce the surf to lumpy, stormy chaos. Yet ideal offshore ENE-E-SE winds still arrive around 20% of the time, usually when high pressure over Scandinavia blocks the westerlies. Those windows produce some of the best, most powerful barrels of the year on the shifting sandbars. With water temperature at 6.0°C, air temps averaging 5.1°C and precipitation at 2.83 mm/day, this is serious winter surfing. December is the climax of the best season - big, punchy and demanding, with quality depending entirely on wind direction.
Average Spot conditions at Sylt in December
Swell history for December
Wind history for December
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Sylt during December. 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 Sylt for your next trip in December.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Sylt for December. 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 Sylt.