Arish

Best Surf Season (October - March)

When autumn darkness swallows the North Atlantic, Arish feels the full force of the mid-latitude storm track. The same low-pressure systems that light up Europe's west coast send long-period groundswell rolling south toward Western Sahara, and the wave rose lights up with a heavy NNW-to-NW signature. Average wave periods climb from the summer's 7-second windswell to a far more powerful 10-12 seconds, and despite the predominantly northerly direction, the WSW-facing beach picks up plenty of refracted and wrap-around energy. With the Azores High still strong enough to drive clean NE/E offshore flow, surfers get glassy faces and proper 4-6ft (1.2-1.8m) waves more often than at any other time of year.

The heart of the season is November through February, when the best combination of size, period and offshore consistency comes together. October and March are transition months but can still deliver excellent conditions, especially when a negative-phase NAO pushes the storm track southward and keeps the trades from over-pumping.