Gold Beach • Statistics for May

May: Smaller Swells, Longer Days

May brings Gold Beach into the spring lull. Average swell heights drop to 5.5ft (1.7m) and the average period falls to 10.9s, so the surf becomes smaller and less powerful. The swell rose is still active, with WNW at 30.7 percent, W at 21.5 percent, and NW at 21.6 percent, but the heights shift toward the 3-6.5ft (1-2m) range, with fewer XXL pulses. Optimal SSW-SW-W swells are less frequent than the NW/WNW groundswells, meaning the sandbars don't always see the ideal angle. Most concerning is the wind: NNW winds roar at 33.2 percent, with N close behind at 15.5 percent, creating strong cross-offshore or side-shore conditions that make the surf lumpy and hard to read. Ideal wind time slips to 18 percent. Still, the weather is far more pleasant - average air temp 11.1°C, precipitation just 2.29mm/day, and water temp 11.5°C - making May a decent month for small-wave groveling or log riding when a clean W swell coincides with a morning offshore.