Conditions at Ribeira Quente in May
May: Clean Small Swell Month
May settles into late-spring mode. The average swell height drops to 5.9ft (1.8m) and the period to 10.0 seconds, with the wave field increasingly dominated by short-period NNW/NW windswell and a growing NNE/NE component. This is the wrong direction for our south-southeast-facing pocket, and in practice most days go flat or offer ankle-to-knee high leftovers. But the offshore wind probability leaps to 44 percent, and the warmer sun makes any surf worthwhile.
The rare days of note occur when a stationary low down near the Canaries pumps a S or SSW swell into the Azores. Water temp rises to 17.5°C and air to around 21.3°C maximum, with precipitation dropping to 1.33 mm/day. It's a month to keep the shortboard in the car and be ready to jump when a storm in the south Atlantic tosses us a fraction of its energy.
Average Spot conditions at Ribeira Quente in May
Swell history for May
Wind history for May
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Ribeira Quente during May. Based on historical data, there is a % probability of groundswell occurring this month. The chart below provides a detailed breakdown of the average wave height distribution, offering deep insights into the swell quality and surf potential you can expect at Ribeira Quente for your next trip in May.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Ribeira Quente for May. Our analysis shows that favorable offshore or side-shore winds coincide with surfable swell approximately % of the time. The accompanying graph illustrates the average size distribution of waves during these optimal wind windows at Ribeira Quente.