Conditions at Tonel in December
December: Winter Solstice Size
December brings the longest nights and some of the largest surf of the year to Tonel. The average swell height is 2.4m (8ft) and the average period is 12.6s, meaning the ocean is running on a steady diet of long-period winter groundswell. Swell direction is dominated by the NW quadrant, with NW at 23.7%, WNW at 15.1% and NNW at 10.9%, while W contributes 5.2%, WSW 2.5% and SW 1.2%. The high proportion of W and WNW energy is ideal for the west-facing beach. The wind regime is more mixed than in summer, and ideal offshore flow from the E/NE quadrant occurs 23% of the time. There is a strong continental influence in December-E and ESE winds appear more regularly, and these are true offshore winds that can leave the surface silky clean. NNW remains the single most common wind at 14.9%, but it shares the stage with a wide spread of directions. With air temps around 14.9°C, water at 16.6°C and precipitation at its annual maximum of 2.97mm/day, December is raw, powerful and potentially spectacular when the charts align.
Average Spot conditions at Tonel in December
Swell history for December
Wind history for December
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Tonel during December. 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 Tonel for your next trip in December.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Tonel for December. 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 Tonel.