Westport Breakwater • Statistics for January

January: Summer Lull Meets Long-Period Pulse

January is dominated by a WSW/W swell train out of the Tasman Sea and Southern Ocean, with WSW accounting for over half of all swell distribution. Most of the energy falls in the 5-8ft (1.5-2.5m) range, and with an average wave period of 11.6s there is plenty of power behind each set. The catch at Westport Breakwater: the true north-to-northwest swell window is only around 6 percent of the time, so the breakwater is largely dependent on refracted and side-angled west energy rather than clean, direct N/NW groundswell.

Wind-wise, the summer patterns start to ease, with ideal offshore conditions clocking in at 44 percent. South and southwest winds combined make up the majority of the offshore flow, but a troublesome 21 percent of the time the wind comes from the N/NNE/NNW/NW quadrant-straight onshore for a north-facing beach. When the wind does go southerly, water temps around 17.3°C and air temps around 15.6°C make for a pleasant session; just expect 4.2 mm/day of precipitation to keep the surroundings green and the odd shower moving through.