Seal Beach • Statistics for March

March: Spring's First Battle

March marks a shift in the seasonal tug of war. The average wave size creeps up to around 3.3ft (1.0m) and periods elongate to 12.5s, making it one of the more powerful average swells of the year. WSW dominates at 42.9%, followed by W at 33.4% and SW at 18.4%; the 3-5ft (1-1.5m) class grows to roughly 27% of the wave rose, so there are legitimately fun, rippable waves to be found. The catch is wind. Ideal offshore conditions drop to just 25%, and the wind rose shows a much stronger WSW/SW onshore flow - WSW 16.0%, SW 12.9%, W 10.3% - firing up by midday. The best windows are tied to pre-dawn NE/NNE gradient winds or lingering offshore flow before the spring sun heats the inland valleys and turns the breeze onshore. Average precipitation falls to 1.59 mm/day and water temp is still a cool 13.8°C, so thicker rubber remains the call.