Backyards • Statistics for January

January: The Prime North Swell Window

January is usually the crown jewel at Backyards. The North Atlantic is firing on all cylinders, and the average swell of 8.9ft (2.7m) arrives with a solid 12.8s period, squarely in the powerful long-period category. The directional breakdown is a beauty for this northwest exposure: NNW contributes 16.2%, NW another 9.5%, N adds 3.2%, and WNW 1.5%, meaning nearly a third of all swell energy is coming from the productive north-northwest quadrant. These are the waves that wrap into the bay and line up with real punch. Wind is the main variable: the trade-wind machine still pumps out ENE 17.8% and E 23.1% of the time, but ideal offshore sectors from S/SSW/SW/WSW combine for roughly 17% of observations, and the overall ideal-surfing wind window is 27% - the highest of the year. When the trades back off and a cold front pushes offshore flow, Backyards is firing: 6-8ft plus (1.8-2.4m plus) corduroy with clean faces. Water temperature sits at 24.1°C, air temperature around 22.8°C, and rain averages 1.99mm/day.