Lop Camping • Statistics for January

January: Peak Winter Power in the Arctic Twilight

The North Atlantic hits top gear in January, and Lop Camping sees the reward: average swell height comes in around 1.9m (6ft) with an average period of 11.3s, placing this month firmly in the powerful long-period zone. The swell rose is built around a dominant WSW-to-W axis, with WSW contributing 18.5 percent, W adding 11.4 percent, and a generous supporting band of WNW, NW and NNW swell at 8.1, 5.3 and 3.8 percent respectively. That means the exposed northwest-facing beach is regularly hit by groundswell right in its optimal W-WNW-NW window. The wind patterns are also in your favor: the offshore quadrant dominates with SE at 29.7 percent, SSE at 12.0 percent and ESE at 9.2 percent, helping produce a 64 percent ideal-wind average for the month. Sea surface temperature is 4.8C, air temperature averages -0.4C and precipitation sits at 4.33 mm/day, so expect cold, snowy, raw sessions. When Atlantic lows push through and cold high pressure then pumps easterly offshore flow over Scandinavia, Lop Camping becomes a clean, powerful, hair-raising winter slab. Bring thick rubber and surf the peak before the wind clocks onshore.