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.

November at Sumner Avenue offers generally small to moderate surf, with an average swell height of 0.9m and a decent period of 8.1s, suggesting relatively clean and organized waves. The swell direction is predominantly from the ESE to SSE, with the highest frequency of rideable waves (1-2.5m) coming from these directions. Conditions are often small (0.5-1.5m), but there are occasional larger days (1.5-2.5m), particularly from the SE and SSE. Wind conditions are variable, with only 17% of days providing ideal offshore or light cross-shore winds (typically from the west or northwest). However, stronger onshore winds from the SW to WNW can create choppy or blown-out conditions, especially in the 10-30kph range. Surfers should target early mornings when winds are lighter or look for days with favorable wind shifts. Overall, November delivers surfable waves, but consistency and quality depend heavily on wind alignment.