Manzanillo • Statistics for January

January: Trade Wind Tunnel

January is the heart of the Central American dry season and Manzanillo feels it. ENE winds blow 67.6 percent of the time and NE winds another 29.0 percent, which means the offshore flow is constant but far too strong for quality surf. The bulk of those trades sit in the 30-50kph range, leaving only 2 percent of the month in the ideal light-offshore window. Meanwhile the swell chart is dominated by short-period ENE and NE windswell, with 26.8 percent and 16.0 percent respectively falling in the 1-1.5m (3-5ft) and 1.5-2m (5-7ft) categories. With an average period around 8 seconds, the surf is usually bumpy and disorganized, and the southwest-facing beach does not wrap that easterly energy efficiently. Air temperatures sit pleasantly warm at 27.3°C, rainfall is essentially zero at 0.06 mm/day, and water temperature is 26.6°C, but surfers will need to pick the rare dawn patrol when the trades ease to find anything clean.