El Porto - surf spot statistics

Best Surf Season (November - February)

The North Pacific winter machine fires up, sending consistent, long-period W and WSW swell toward the Southern California coast. El Porto, with its west-southwest exposure, catches the brunt of these powerful groundswells. Average wave heights hover in the 0.8-0.9m range, but pulses easily push into the 1-1.5m fun zone and occasionally punch into the 1.5-2.5m pumping range. The wind regime is at its most favorable, with offshore flow from the NE and E quadrants occurring over 45% of the time, often grooming the waves to perfection. This is the prime window for quality surf at El Porto.

Fair Surf Season (October & March - April)

The transition months offer a mix. October sees the first stirrings of winter swell, but heights are still modest (avg 0.7m) and ideal wind drops to 39%. March and April retain solid swell from W and WSW with averages around 0.9m, but the offshore wind frequency declines to 35-38%. You'll still find plenty of rideable waves, especially when a strong cold front passes and sets up clean conditions before the next onshore push.

Low Surf Season (May - September)

Summer brings a dramatic shift. Swell from the North Pacific all but disappears, replaced by weaker, shorter-period SW and WSW windswell. Average heights remain in the 0.7-0.8m range, but the dominant wind becomes onshore from the SW and W, with ideal offshore wind dropping to just 24-31%. The combination of smaller waves and frequent afternoon sea breezes makes for mostly mushy, sub-par conditions. Early mornings can still offer clean windows, but consistent quality is hard to come by.

August: Consistent Small Swell

August continues the summer pattern. Swell height averages 0.8m, period 12.5s, with SW (38.7%) and WSW (38.6%) dominating. The percentage of larger waves is minimal – over 1.5m is rare. Ideal wind improves only slightly to 25%, with onshore winds from the WSW and SW still the rule. Expect small, weak waves most days, but occasional pulses of longer-period south swell can provide clean, fun waves if the wind cooperates early.