Unstad • Statistics for January

January: Deep-Winter Firing Line

January is as good as it gets at Unstad. The average swell height is 1.9m (6ft) and the average period sits at 10.1s, so the water is consistently moving. The center of the swell rose is still dominated by SSW and SW swells, but the directions that actually light up the bay - W, WNW, NW and NNW - still make up around 27% of the total. That means every few days a proper NW or NNW swell pushes straight into the beach, while the rest of the time you are working with more westerly or north-westerly swell that may need some tide and wind magic to come alive.

On the wind side, only 11% of January hours are truly offshore from E, ESE, SE or SSE. SE and SSE winds are common, but they are often strong, with 30-50kph gusts, and that can easily chop up what would otherwise be a beautiful Arctic wave. If you get a cold high pressure ridge wedged over Scandinavia following an Icelandic low, the offshore flow can be clean and glassy, turning Unstad into a heavy, pumping, big-wave arena. Air temperatures average 1.6°C, water temperature is 6.2°C, and precipitation is frequent at 3.60 mm/day, so expect snow squalls and wind chill that make a thick hood and booties non-negotiable.