Forecasts › Surf spots by wind direction

Surfing with a north-west wind

A north-west wind is offshore when it blows from land to sea: it smooths the face of the waves and holds them up slightly. This ranking only looks at each beach's orientation; local dunes, cliffs and headlands can shelter or funnel the wind, and only the day's forecast counts.

No spot in the reference is clearly sheltered from this wind.

For the other 79 spots this wind blows across the beach (10) or onshore from the sea (69): waves are messier, best kept for days with nothing better.

Careful: a strong offshore wind pushes you away from the shore and makes the way back hard, especially on a board or bodyboard; do not go out alone.

Other wind directions

north · north-east · east · south-east · south · south-west · west · north-west

Read next

• Water safety: rip channels, flags, emergency numbers
• How to read a surf forecast
• Spots for beginners, area by area
• Which spot for which wind
• Gentle waves today
• Understanding swell, period and direction
• Spotting and avoiding rip channels (baïnes)
• Surfing in Lacanau

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