Woolacombe • Statistics for December

December: Midwinter Punch

December delivers the full Atlantic heavyweight programme. Average swell height is 6.9ft (2.1m), period is 10.6s, and the swell rose shows a strong W component at 21.2 percent with WSW close behind at 19.9 percent, plus useful WNW and NW contributions totalling 8.7 percent. W and WNW swells in the 5-8ft (1.5-2.5m) range are common, and the over-8ft (2.5m) class appears frequently enough to keep things honest. Winter storms, often moving under the influence of a positive NAO, fire swells into the west-facing coast every few days. Wind is the great filter: ideal offshore conditions are only 9 percent, with WSW, W, WNW and NW onshore winds making up just under a third of the distribution. The classic December setup is a slow-moving Atlantic low, very long W swell and a brief post-frontal NW wind, but the best windows come when high pressure over Europe brings E or ESE flow under clear skies. Water temperature is 10.5C, air averages 7.4C and precipitation peaks at 4.25mm/day. For those with the rubber and the timing, December can be pumping, world-class beachbreak surfing.