Figueira Foz

Best Surf Season (October - March)

The North Atlantic storm track shifts southward during October, and Figueira Foz starts to feel the first serious pulses of winter. Average swell heights climb from 1.9m (6ft) in October to a peak of 2.4m (8ft) in January, while the average wave period stretches from 11.4s up to 13.1s. These are powerful, long-period W and WNW groundswells generated by extratropical cyclones, and because the beach faces WSW, the W-to-WNW window hits it directly. The percentage of ideal offshore wind also jumps from around 31 percent in September to 41-50 percent during winter, as high pressure over continental Europe feeds NE, ENE and E winds across the coast. When the NAO sits in a more negative phase and the storm track pushes lows closer to Iberia, expect more pumping, firing days. It is wet and cold, with air temperatures around 10-12°C and water temps dropping to 13.7-14.3°C, but for dedicated surfers this is the money window.