Turtle Head • Statistics for February

February: Sustained NNE Pulse in the Winter Machine

February is a continuation of the winter machine, although it lets off a little steam compared to January. The average swell height drops to 1.5m (5ft) with the period holding steady at 7.5 seconds. The swell distribution is still heavily biased toward the NNE at 52.0 percent, with NE adding 24.9 percent. The directional mismatch with the west-southwest-facing beach remains, but the long fetch of the northeasterly trades over the Philippine Sea doesn't discriminate - it sends waves marching toward the coast, wrapping and bending into Turtle Head's west-facing nooks.

Offshore wind reliability remains high at 51 percent, with ENE (23.9 percent) and NE (20.1 percent) doing most of the work. The strength of these winds is moderate, often 10-20kph, which is perfect for grooming the face without flattening it. Sea surface temperature eases slightly to 25.5°C, air temperature to 24.6°C, and precipitation stays minimal at 0.58 mm/day. It is a solid month for a surfer who doesn't need perfect southwest groundswell; the trade wind swell is constant and the mornings are often glassy.