Langland Beach • Statistics for January

January: Winter's Deepest Phase

January sits right in the heart of the North Atlantic storm season, and Langland sees an average swell height around 5ft (1.6m) with a 10.7-second period. That is long-period, powerful groundswell by any standard. The catch is direction: WSW and W swells account for roughly 57% of the energy, while the ideal S, SSW and SW window only makes up about 11% of observations. A west-heavy swell hits this south-facing beach at an angle and can be shifty; when the fetch swings into the southwest or south, the quality climbs immediately.

Wind remains the limiting factor. Ideal offshore winds - from the N, NNE, NE or NNW - are present just 13% of the time, and the dominant SW-WSW-W flow is mostly cross-onshore. Average air temperature is 5.9°C with water at 8.7°C, so this is full winter gear territory. The best January days come behind a cold front, when the gradient slackens and the wind backs into the north; then the long-period winter swell lines up on the sandbanks and Langland shows its true potential.