Punta Brava • Statistics for May

May: Bigger Swell, Fading Winds

May signals the onset of the wet season, and the entire character of Punta Brava changes. The average swell height bumps up to 1.0m (3.3ft) as the Southern Hemisphere winter storm track becomes more active. SSW still dominates at 96.6%, with 32.8% of waves coming in the 1-1.5m (3.3-5ft) class and a small but notable 1.2% pushing into the 1.5-2m (5-6.5ft) range. The average period remains long at 14.1s, so there is serious power behind these waves. However, the wind pattern has now flipped to an onshore regime. WSW (16.9%), W (17.4%), and WNW (13.9%) become the most frequent wind directions, all blowing from the ocean side and creating lumpy, wind-affected surfaces. Ideal wind rates drop sharply to 29% of the time. Rainfall jumps to 8.10 mm/day, and water temps warm to 28.4°C. The early mornings are your best bet, when land and sea breeze contrasts sometimes create a brief window of offshore light winds before the onshore craze begins.