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Conditions at Playa Malibu in December
December: Dry Season Cleanup
December is a full return to the dry season. Precipitation drops to 3.45 mm/day, air temperature is 25.8°C and water temp still sits warm at 28.3°C. The trade winds are firing; NNW wind accounts for 62.2% and N another 11.2%, giving a very high 72% ideal-wind reading. Offshore flow is abundant, which is why the surface is often glassy and inviting.
Swell, however, becomes more of a mix. SSW drops to 36.2% and SW to 16.6%, while N/NNW/NW directions combined make up a significant share of the low-period energy. Average height stays at 0.7m (2.3ft), but the average period falls to 9.0s, so a lot of that energy is shorter-period windswell. There are still clean 2-3ft (0.6-0.9m) S/SW groundswell pulses, but they are less consistent than the April-August window. For the traveling surfer, December offers the best chance of warm, glassy, small waves-just not much size.
Average Spot conditions at Playa Malibu in December
Swell history for December
Wind history for December
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Playa Malibu 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 Playa Malibu for your next trip in December.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Playa Malibu 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 Playa Malibu.