Nazare seasonal overview
Best Surf Season (October - March)
The North Atlantic roars back to life in October, when the first deep extratropical cyclones begin rolling through the eastern Atlantic. Average swell heights climb from the summer doldrums to 6-8ft (1.8-2.4m) and periods push back above 11 seconds. The heart of winter, December through February, is the real peak: average combined swell sits at 7-8ft (2.1-2.4m), the wave period hovers around 13 seconds, and offshore easterly wind blows 46-51 percent of the time. This is when Nazare lives up to its XXL reputation, especially when the North Atlantic Oscillation aligns the storm track to deliver clean W/WNW groundswell into the canyon. The beach faces WSW, so west and west-northwest swell is the key; a good chunk of winter also arrives as strong NW/NNW swell that wraps and refracts in, but true W-WNW is the gold standard.
Fair Surf Season (April - May and September)
These are transitional months. April still has 6ft (1.8m) average swell and an 11-second period from winter leftovers, while May drops to 5ft (1.5m) and 10 seconds. September is the first month of autumn when the percentage of clean offshore days begins climbing back toward 40 percent and long-period pulses start showing up again. Surf is rideable and often clean, especially in the morning, but the heavy consistency of winter and the full big-wave season are not yet in full swing.
Low Surf Season (June - August)
Summer is the sleepy season at Nazare. The Azores High locks in, the North Atlantic storm track shifts north, and average swell heights fall to 4-5ft (1.2-1.5m) with periods in the 8-9 second range. Dominant NNW and NW winds blow 50-60 percent of the time, which puts a lot of bumpy, cross-shore texture on the wave faces. The percentage of ideal offshore wind days bottoms out at 26-31 percent. Small days still produce fun, rippable waves for shortboards, and the water is warm, but the XXL show is a distant memory.