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Conditions at Long Sands in May
May: The Summer Lull Sets In
May marks the beginning of the low season at Long Sands. Average swell height slides to 0.9m (3ft), the period drops to 6.7s, and the ocean begins to behave more like a rumbling windswell machine than a powerful winter ocean. The NNE direction is absolutely dominant at 27.6% of all swell, with NE and E still providing background energy, but almost all of it is under 1m (3ft). Genuinely surfable 1-1.5m (4-5ft) waves are limited to around 12% of the total, and anything overhead is rare.
Winds are a toss-up. The ideal wind percentage slips to 22%, and while W/SW/WSW flows remain common, onshore NE/NNE directions are equally frequent in the springtime pattern. The saving grace is the warmer weather: air temps average 10°C, water temps reach 10.1°C, and precipitation drops to 1.53mm/day. For a small-wave day on a longboard, May can be fine, but if you're chasing genuine Long Sands quality, you're now waiting for a strong low to throw a late-season NNE swell into the North Sea.
Average Spot conditions at Long Sands in May
Swell history for May
Wind history for May
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Long Sands during May. Based on historical data, there is a % probability of groundswell occurring this month. The chart below provides a detailed breakdown of the average wave height distribution, offering deep insights into the swell quality and surf potential you can expect at Long Sands for your next trip in May.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Long Sands for May. Our analysis shows that favorable offshore or side-shore winds coincide with surfable swell approximately % of the time. The accompanying graph illustrates the average size distribution of waves during these optimal wind windows at Long Sands.