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Conditions at Daytona Beach in May
May: The Summer Pattern Sets In
May is where the surf season takes a visible turn for the worse at Daytona. Average swell height stays at 2.0ft (0.6m), but period drops to 7.8s and ideal-wind time falls to just 12%. East swell is still the dominant direction at 31.2%, but the ESE component is almost as large at 28.9%, and a big chunk of both is micro - 0-1.6ft (0-0.5m) - rather than quality. ENE adds another 16.1%, but the consistency of hollow, well-shaped surf is fading.
The summer pressure pattern is locking in: the Atlantic subtropical high drives persistent E/SE trade winds, plus a daily onshore seabreeze. Offshore winds from the SSW to W sector still occur about 20% of the time, but they are increasingly light and often not connected to any real swell source. Expect small, grovelly beachbreak conditions with the occasional clean morning glass and some southerly windswell. Water temperature jumps to 25.6°C, air to 25.3°C, and the afternoon thunderstorms add 3.06mm/day of rainfall to the mix.
Average Spot conditions at Daytona Beach in May
Swell history for May
Wind history for May
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Daytona Beach during May. Based on historical data, there is a % probability of groundswell occurring this month. The chart below provides a detailed breakdown of the average wave height distribution, offering deep insights into the swell quality and surf potential you can expect at Daytona Beach for your next trip in May.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Daytona Beach for May. Our analysis shows that favorable offshore or side-shore winds coincide with surfable swell approximately % of the time. The accompanying graph illustrates the average size distribution of waves during these optimal wind windows at Daytona Beach.