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Conditions at Lincoln City in May
May: Smaller Swells, North Wind Season Begins
May sees the summer pattern start to flex. Average swell drops to 5.2ft (1.6m), periods shorten to 10.8s, and ideal wind plummets to 14%. W (32%) and WNW (34%) remain dominant, but the overall energy is smaller, with most waves falling in the 3-6ft (1-2m) range. The real story is the wind: NNW flow accounts for a massive 33% of observations, with another 11% from NW, producing persistent onshore/cross-onshore conditions on the exposed west-facing beaches. Clean days are rare and usually confined to early mornings with a light easterly breeze. Water temp rises to 11.8°C, air warms to 11°C, and precipitation falls to 2.5mm/day - the crowds start to come out, but the surf quality is distinctly average.
Average Spot conditions at Lincoln City in May
Swell history for May
Wind history for May
Swell quality
Analyze the groundswell consistency at Lincoln City 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 Lincoln City for your next trip in May.
Ground swell
Ground swell by size
Wind conditions
Evaluate the wind and swell alignment at Lincoln City 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 Lincoln City.