El Mongol seasonal overview
Best Surf Season (November - February)
El Mongol is a winter spot. When the North Atlantic storm machine cranks up, deep lows rolling eastward toward the Bay of Biscay send consistent, long-period NW and NNW groundswell racing into this north-facing beach. The average winter swell sits at 5-6ft (1.6-1.8m) with periods of 11.7-12.6s, and ideal S/SSW/SW winds blow 50-60% of the time under a favourable pressure pattern that pits continental high pressure against Atlantic lows. If the NAO is in a positive phase, the storm track becomes even more generous, and the result is hollow, powerful peaks with real push. This is the heart of the year.
Fair Surf Season (March - May and September - October)
The shoulder seasons are a game of timing. March and October still produce solid NW swell in the 4-5ft (1.4-1.6m) range with 11-12s periods, but wind consistency drops as low pressure systems pass closer to the coast. In April and May the Atlantic energy fades to 3-4ft (1.0-1.3m) and periods shrink toward 10s, while the wind rose fills with more E and NE flow. Clean dawn sessions are very possible, especially behind cold fronts or with a light SSW offshore drift, but the long, reliable winter groundswell trains are gone.
Low Surf Season (June - August)
Summer is the slow season at El Mongol. The Azores High becomes the dominant player, the storm track retreats to the far North Atlantic, and average waves bottom out at 3ft (0.9m) with short 8.7-9.0s periods. The swell direction is still mostly NW and NNW, but the heights are small and weak. To make matters worse, thermal afternoon winds often blow from the onshore N and NNW quadrants, and ideal offshore winds are present only 16-20% of the time. The summer months are for longboarding, small-wave practice and waiting for that rare hurricane swell or early autumn low to fire the bank back up.