Sumner Avenue - surf spot statistics

Sumner Avenue offers surfable conditions year-round, but the best months for consistent, quality waves are September through November. During September, ground swell presence increases significantly to 24%, the highest of the year, while wind swell remains dominant at 65%. Swell size averages a decent 0.9m, and wind conditions improve slightly with 26% good wind days—still somewhat marginal but better than most other months. October follows with a solid mix of ground (15%) and wind swells (66%), maintaining a 0.9m average swell size. While wind conditions degrade slightly (21% good winds), the swell consistency remains favorable. November sees a drop in ground swell (11%) but maintains similar conditions to October. Late summer and early fall (August-September) also show promise with August having a noticeable ground swell increase (12%) and September peaking in ground swell contribution. Winter months (December-February) bring more wind swell dominance (62–66%) and poor wind conditions (81–83% bad winds), though swell size stays around 0.8m. Spring and early summer (April-July) suffer from higher wind swell influence (77–84%) and generally unfavorable winds (76–80% bad). While smaller swells (0.7–0.9m) persist, the wind quality makes these months less ideal. Overall, September stands out as the best month for surf with the highest ground swell contribution and marginally better winds, followed by October and November for more balanced conditions.

December at Sumner Avenue tends to offer modest but rideable conditions for surfers. The average swell height is around 0.8m with a period of 7.9s, indicating mostly small, mid-period waves. The most consistent swell direction comes from the ESE to SSE, contributing the highest frequency of waves in the 0.5-1.5m range, with some occasional larger sets up to 2.5m when conditions align. However, the majority of waves remain below 1.5m, making it better suited for longboarding or beginners when clean. Wind conditions are less favorable, with only 17% of the time offering ideal offshore or light winds for surfing. The dominant wind directions are W to NW, often bringing onshore or cross-shore breezes in the 10-30kph range, which can create chop and reduce wave quality. While not a high-performance month, patient surfers can still find clean, smaller waves when winds cooperate, particularly early in the day. Expect a mix of softer, crumbly waves with occasional faster sections on the better SSE swells. Overall, it’s a fair but inconsistent time to surf here, requiring flexibility to score the best sessions.