Marami Beach • Statistics for December

December: Winter Swell, Fickle Winds

December is the beginning of the peak bowl season in terms of raw size, with an average swell height of 6ft (1.8m) and an average period of 10.1 seconds. The swell distribution is classic Amihan: NE accounts for 60 percent, ENE 16 percent and NNE 11 percent, and over half of all wave heights sit in the 5-8ft (1.5-2.5m) range. That is serious, powerful surf for an exposed NNE sandbar, and on a good day it can be flat-out fun. Yet ideal offshore winds are only present 13 percent of the time--the second-lowest of the year--and the northeast trade winds blow straight into the beach while rain increases to 13.91mm per day. Air temps average 26.1°C (min 21.7°C, max 30.8°C), water temperature is 28.5°C. To score December well, you need to align a south or southwest wind window with the swell--often in the wake of a winter cold front sweeping through the South China Sea--and then the northeast energy really comes to life.