Long Sands • Statistics for December

December: Winter's Firing Line

December matches November for raw stats - 1.3m (4ft) average swell, 7.8s period, and 37% ideal wind - but with a distinctly deeper and more powerful feel. The average period is the year's highest, and the distribution of bigger waves is wider, with N, NNE, and NNW all capable of producing 1.5-2.5m (5-8ft) sets. The NE/ENE/E quadrant still supplies the bread-and-butter waves, but December is the month when a proper North Sea storm can stack up a serious swell against the coast.

Wind statistics are excellent for surf quality: WSW and W blow 15.6% and 14.1% of the time respectively, with SW contributing another 12.8%, giving Long Sands an offshore-friendly pattern for over half the month. Onshore NE/E winds are scarce, so even when the swell is maxing out, surface conditions often stay clean. This is cold, serious winter surfing: water temperature 8.3°C, air temps average 5.7°C, and occasional bitter minima near -2.5°C. Thick hood, gloves, boots and a 5/4 are non-negotiable, but the reward is the most reliable and powerful surf of the year.