Santa Rosa • Statistics for January

January: Summer Groundswell and Rare Offshore Windows

January opens the year with solid, long-period SSW/SW groundswell on the tape. Average surf hovers around 4-5ft (1.2-1.5m), while a large share of the swell sits in the 3-5ft (1-1.5m) and 5-6.5ft (1.5-2m) classes. With the average wave period holding at 13s, the energy is powerful and organized even when the height isn't huge. The wind, however, remains the main character: S and SSW combine for roughly 79% of observations, and true offshore NE/ENE/E/ESE flow only shows up 3% of the time. That means most January days are side-shore and textured, with occasional clean windows when a light morning land breeze lines up with the swell. Sea surface temps sit at a warm 19C and air temps average 20.6C, so when the stars align the payoff is warm-water, rippable surf.