Avalanche • Surf Spot Statistics

Best Surf Season (November - March)

The late spring and summer months are the closest thing Avalanche ever sees to a dependable season. As the South Atlantic high pressure cell settles in and the mid-latitude storm track drifts poleward, the local wind regime becomes noticeably less hostile. Ideal offshore flow from S, SSW, SW and WSW makes up 25-28 percent of the daily observations, and average wave heights sit in the 6-7ft (1.9-2.1m) range with periods of 10.7-11.7s. That is powerful, ridable groundswell. The catch is that the swell tables show virtually zero N, NNE, NE or ENE swell-the directions this NNE-facing beach actually wants-so most of the energy arrives from SSW/SW and has to wrap or refract. Even so, when a fading SSW/SW groundswell meets a post-frontal WSW offshore wind, Avalanche turns on with clean, rippable peaks.

Fair Surf Season (April-May & October)

These shoulder months are transitional. In autumn, the South Atlantic starts to wake up: average swell heights climb from 6.9ft (2.1m) to 7.2ft (2.2m) and periods stretch out to 12.2s. In spring, the ocean is still holding winter power, but the storm track is slowly backing off. Ideal wind percentages sit around 22-25 percent, and the balance between clean WSW/SW offshore flow and messy E/ENE cross-shore wind becomes a daily toss-up. The best sessions often come with the passage of a cold front, when the wind clocks around from the northeast to the southwest and the last of the long-period SSW/SW swell is still wrapping around the coast.

Low Surf Season (June - September)

Avalanche is most challenging in the heart of winter. The swells are undeniably big-the average height peaks at 7.5-7.9ft (2.3-2.4m) with 12.2-12.5s periods-but this is raw, unrefined energy moving out of the SSW/SW quadrant. For a beach facing NNE, that means most of that power is shadowed, refracted or just closeout-y. To make matters worse, the local wind is dominated by strong W, WNW and NNW flow around frontal systems, and ideal offshore wind windows drop to only 18-21 percent. Unless you have a very high tolerance for heavy, side-offshore to onshore slop, this is the season to look elsewhere.