Playa de la Canteria • Statistics for January

January: Deep-Winter Groundswell and the Offshore Gamble

January is deep winter in the Bay of Biscay. The average wave height is 1.6m (about 5ft) and the average period is a powerful 12.7 seconds, making this one of the most consistent months for genuine long-period groundswell at Playa de la Canteria. The direction rose shows a northern ocean in full swing: NNW accounts for 30 percent, NNE nearly 20 percent, N 14 percent and NW 13 percent, with plenty of energy in the 1-1.5m and 1.5-2m bands. That means head-high-plus sets are common, and every few weeks a bigger pulse pushes waves well into the 2m+ range. The catch is wind. NNE and NE winds combine for roughly 42 percent of the observations, and those are onshore and generally ruin the shape. Only 7 percent of the time does the wind sit in the offshore S/SSW/SW/WSW quadrant, but when it does, the winter groundswell lines up beautifully. Average air temperatures are 17.6°C (13-22.7°C), water temperature is 18.8°C, and precipitation is modest at 0.45mm/day, so a 3/2 or 4/3 wetsuit and a good wind-check are the tools for making the most of January.