Oakura Beach • Statistics for September

September: Power Holds but Spring Winds Turn Fickle

September is a month of serious swell potential at Oakura, but the wind forecast becomes the ultimate gatekeeper. Average swell height is still a robust 2.1m (7ft), period hits 12.3s - tied for the year's longest - and the N-NW window holds steady around 12.8 percent. The swell direction table shows WSW at 35.1 percent, W at 15.0 percent and WNW at 6.6 percent, keeping plenty of long-period energy wrapping into the coast. The ocean is still very much alive; it's the sky that starts to complicate things.

Ideal wind frequency drops to 16 percent as spring transitions bring more variable N, NW and NNW conditions. WNW and NW winds combine for over 15 percent of the wind rose, often creating bumpy, onshore-textured surf. Still, when a vigorous Southern Ocean low pushes a long-period WNW swell just ahead of a cold southerly change, Oakura can serve up some of the heaviest, best-shaped waves of the year. Air temps are 12.4°C, water temps 13.8°C, and rainfall remains healthy at 4.09 mm/day.