Cloud 9 • Statistics for January

January: Mid-Winter Monsoon Muscle

The Siberian High reaches peak strength and the northeast monsoon machine is firing on all cylinders. Cloud 9 sees its biggest average swell of the year at 5-6ft (1.7m) with a punchy 9.5s period, and over 93% of all swell energy arrives from the favorable N/NNE/NE/ENE window. The NE quadrant is the workhorse: NE swell alone accounts for 57% of observations, and the 1.5-2m (5-6.5ft) and 2-2.5m (6.5-8ft) classes combine for a hefty 35% of the month. The problem is wind. With NE/ENE winds blowing roughly 55% of the time and only 3% ideal offshore flow, the setup is often racy and onshore, especially once the afternoon sea breeze kicks in. Short windows around dawn or during a slackening monsoon can still produce thick, powerful reef waves, but expect to work for them. Water temperature is 27.7°C, air averages 27.2°C, and 16.3mm/day of rain keeps the atmosphere stormy and tropical.