Turtle Head • Statistics for May

May: The Onset of Habagat Brings Messy Southwestern Energy

May is the turning point toward the southwest monsoon. The average swell height falls to the annual low of 0.7m (2.3ft), and the wave period shortens to 6.5 seconds - a classic local windswell signature. The directional mix is fascinating: NNE and NE still produce 27.5 percent and 16.3 percent, but the southwest quadrant now fires up, with SW at 12.8 percent, WSW at 12.5 percent, SSW at 4.2 percent and W at 4.2 percent. This is the first month where the swell direction is properly aligned with Turtle Head's exposure, but the energy and period are too weak to make it count.

The wind situation turns against surfers. Ideal offshore wind plummets to 25 percent, as the wind rose is increasingly dominated by southerly and south-southwesterly flows (S 11.3 percent, SSW 9.9 percent, SSE 7.2 percent, SW 7.9 percent). These onshore winds add to the local windswell, cluttering the water and making it lumpy. With air temperature at 28.2°C, water at a sizzling 30.0°C, and precipitation jumping to 6.00 mm/day, May marks the start of the wet, less reliable surf season. For a surfer, it is better to wait for a late-month tropical cyclone to inject some long-period energy and hope the wind drops out overnight.