8th Street Jetty - surf spot statistics

Best Surf Season (September - November)

As summer transitions to autumn, the North Atlantic begins to spin up more potent extratropical storms, and their long-period swell trains start marching toward the East Coast. September stands out as the month with the highest average period (8.3s) and a solid 1.1m average height, driven by a climatological peak in optimal swell directions from the east through southeast. Wind conditions are also favorable, with 40% ideal offshore flow from the west-northwest through southwest. October and November maintain this momentum, offering a compelling blend of size, period, and direction that consistently puts 8th Street Jetty in the firing line for clean, rippable waves.

Fair Surf Season (December - February & April - May)

The heart of winter (December through February) delivers the largest average swell heights (1.3m) and periods hovering around 7 seconds, thanks to powerful low-pressure systems tracking across the North Atlantic. However, the wind machine is less cooperative—offshore flow from the west-northwest and northwesterly quadrants occurs only 37-39% of the time, and a significant portion of the swell arrives from less-than-optimal southerly and southwesterly directions, degrading wave quality with onshore crumble. Spring (April and May) sees a drop in average swell height to 1.0-1.2m, but the wind becomes more reliable (37% ideal in May) and swell directions shift toward the more favorable eastern quadrants, making for cleaner, more playful conditions on a good day.

Low Surf Season (June - August & March)

During the summer months, the jet stream retreats northward, and the Atlantic storm track weakens significantly. Average swell heights bottom out at 0.8-0.9m with short periods around 7 seconds. While the wind is at its cleanest (45-50% offshore flow from the west-southwest through northwest), the vast majority of the swell is comprised of small, short-period windswell from the southeast and south—directions that are largely onshore and often lead to mushy, weak waves. March is a transitional month with average size (1.3m) but the lowest wind quality of the year (32% ideal) and a swell mix that leans too heavily toward the south and east, rarely aligning with the perfect offshore breeze needed for 8th Street Jetty to fire.

July: Peak Summer Consistency

July offers the best wind statistics of the year with 50% ideal offshore flow. The dominant wind directions are SSW (14.3%), SW (11.7%), and WSW (9.2%), all light to moderate (mostly below 20 kph). This creates frequent windows of clean, glassy conditions. However, the average swell height drops to 0.8m and the period is a short 7.0s. Swell direction is heavily weighted toward SSE (33.4%) and S (27.3%), with SE (19.6%) and ESE (8.6%) making up the rest. While SE and ESE swells have some energy, they are often too small to produce rideable waves. July is a month for patient surfers—when a rare E long-period swell (e.g., from a distant storm) aligns with the consistent offshore breeze, the jetty can offer clean, rippable lines. But plan on lots of micro sessions and plenty of sunscreen.