Playa Cambutal • Statistics for January

January: Peak of the Dry Season - Offshore Trades and Clean SSW Groundswell

January is Playa Cambutal at its crispest. High pressure over the Caribbean keeps the trades blowing from the N, NNE and NE nearly 80% of the time, and with 65% of the wind reports falling into the ideal offshore category, the south-facing beach is usually smooth and lined up. Average swell height sits at 1.1m (3.6ft) on a 11.7s period, which puts the surf in the powerful long-period bracket. The swell roses tell the story: SSW accounts for 45.3% of all swell energy, with a further 14.1% from the SW. Most of that is in the 0.5-1.5m (2-5ft) range, with a solid slab of 1.5-2m (5-6.5ft) sets mixed in. This is a month where the classic combo - SSW groundswell wrapping into a south-facing point under NNE offshore wind - produces clean, rippable surf.

The NNE quadrant alone delivers 44.1% of the wind, with 18.4% blowing 20-30kph - perfect grooming velocity. Air temperatures hover around 27.1°C, rainfall is low at 1.2mm/day, and water temperature sits at a warm 27.3°C, so the only real variable is finding the right board for those long-period lulls.