Sunglow Pier • Statistics for April

April: The Trades Begin to Build

April is the month when quiet conditions begin to settle in. Average swell height slips to 2ft (0.6m), the period falls back to 8.0s, and while the favorable direction share is still a respectable 60% (E 26.1%, ENE 16.4%, NE 12.1%), the energy is overwhelmingly small: fewer than 6% of waves reach the 3ft (1m) mark. More telling is the wind shift: ESE (10.0%), SE (10.2%), and E (8.8%) winds now dominate - a sign that the tropical Atlantic high is flexing its muscles. These directions are onshore for the east-northeast-facing pier, and ideal wind days drop to 17%.

With air temps rising to 22°C (71°F) and water at 23°C (74°F), the ocean starts to feel like spring, but the surf quality fades. A lingering winter groundswell can still light up the sandbars early in the month, especially if a straggler cold front brings a northwest wind shift. By late April, though, the longboard crowd takes over. Rainfall eases to 2.1 mm/day, and dawn patrol before the seabreeze is the best hope for a groomed wave.