Plate VII · Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region
Tarfaya
Short answer
Best months for Tarfaya (27.94° N · 12.93° W) in the data: July (93% of days ≥ 12 kn, mean 15.9 kn), August (82%), June (73%). Calmest: December (28%). Across the year an average of 56% of days reach 12 knots. In the best months the dominant wind is from the north. Offshore sea temperature ranges from 17.9 to 21.5 °C depending on the month.
The spot
Tarfaya is a southern town near Cap Juby. The Cap Juby airfield was a stopover of the Aéropostale airmail line, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was its station manager from 1927; a museum in town recalls this history.
Its summer wind is strong in the data: in July 93 % of days have a daytime mean of 12 kn or more, the highest share of any spot and month in the dataset.
Wind, month by month
ERA5 reanalysis 2015–2024, wind at 10 m, daytime 11:00–18:00 Moroccan clock time of the period, ≈ 10:00–17:00 on today’s UTC+0 clock.
Monthly wind statistics, Tarfaya
| Month | Avg wind (kn) | Days ≥ 12 kn | Days ≥ 15 kn | Directions (hours ≥ 8 kn) | Air max (°C) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.1 | 41% | 18% | NE 35 · N 32 · SE 13 | 21.1 |
| Feb | 12.4 | 49% | 29% | N 45 · NE 27 · SE 9 | 21.3 |
| Mar | 12.9 | 55% | 28% | N 58 · NE 20 · NW 10 | 21.7 |
| Apr | 12.7 | 59% | 27% | N 67 · NW 16 · NE 9 | 22.3 |
| May | 13.4 | 64% | 32% | N 77 · NW 12 · NE 8 | 23.3 |
| Jun | 13.7 | 73% | 39% | N 84 · NW 6 · NE 6 | 24.3 |
| Jul | 15.9 | 93% | 68% | N 87 · NE 12 · NW 1 | 25.5 |
| Aug | 14.7 | 82% | 46% | N 78 · NE 19 · NW 2 | 26.6 |
| Sep | 12.7 | 61% | 22% | N 72 · NE 23 · NW 4 | 26.2 |
| Oct | 10.3 | 32% | 9% | N 53 · NE 25 · NW 9 | 26.2 |
| Nov | 10.4 | 29% | 13% | N 43 · NE 33 · SE 6 | 24.2 |
| Dec | 10.0 | 28% | 11% | NE 29 · SE 21 · N 21 | 22.6 |
Directions: share (%) of daytime hours at 8 knots or more, for the three most frequent sectors. Air max: mean of daily daytime maximum air temperature.
The sea: temperature and offshore swell
Open-Meteo Marine API, monthly means 2022–2024 at the nearest offshore model point. These are not beach wave heights.
Sea off Tarfaya (27.94° N · 12.95° W)
| Month | Sea temp. (°C) | Offshore waves (m) | Period (s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18.4 | 1.1 | 8.8 |
| Feb | 17.9 | 1.3 | 8.7 |
| Mar | 18.4 | 1.4 | 8.2 |
| Apr | 19.3 | 1.4 | 7.3 |
| May | 19.6 | 1.3 | 7.0 |
| Jun | 21.5 | 1.2 | 6.6 |
| Jul | 20.6 | 1.4 | 6.4 |
| Aug | 20.3 | 1.4 | 6.6 |
| Sep | 20.6 | 1.1 | 7.0 |
| Oct | 20.8 | 1.1 | 8.3 |
| Nov | 20.7 | 1.1 | 8.9 |
| Dec | 19.6 | 1.1 | 9.0 |