Conditions at Choshi in January
January: Deep Winter Power and Offshore Flow
January is the heart of Choshi's winter surf season. Average swell heights hold around 5-6ft (1.7m) with a 9.9s average period, putting the beach in powerful mid-period territory. The directional data reveals a dominant NE/NNE swell (nearly 40% of the observations), generated by strong winter lows moving across the North Pacific. Because the beach faces south, these NE/NNE swells are often shadowed and less clean, but the 15% of energy arriving from the NNW/NW direction indicates locally wind-generated swell. The wind story is the real highlight: the Siberian High drives a strong NNW/NW monsoon, and a combined 45% of the time the wind is offshore. Air temperatures average 8.6°C and water drops to 12.2°C, so a thick hood and gloves are the price of entry. When a true SSE/S swell coincides with the offshore flow, the south-facing banks fire, and on the rare big-wave windows Choshi gets heavy and hollow.
Average Spot conditions at Choshi in January
Swell history for January
Wind history for January
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Choshi 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 Choshi for your next trip in January.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Choshi 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 Choshi.