August is an interesting month in Playa Guiones for weather and surf conditions. The quality of the surf during the rainy season is directly related to the unpredictable weather.

If the weather is rainy and windy then the surf will be bad. Even after the big, heavy rains have passed the surf could still be poor because the runoff from the rains shifts our sandbars around significantly. So, let's all hope for good weather this August, which can really be hit or miss.

We had very heavy rains last May and June, which many attributed to the El Niño weather pattern in 2010. It seemed like much of the rain fell early last season, leaving us with more dry days than normal in August, September and October. So far this year the rains have not been that bad, so we might be back to a more traditional wet season in 2011, with our heavier rains being from August-October.

As far as surf conditions go, if the weather is cooperative we can expect the average swell to be about waist to head high with a handful of days in the overhead range when we get our bigger south swells. Usually the form is not as good during August and other months in the wet season because of the runoff effect on the sandbars. So, expect things to be a little bit more mixed up and peaky with not as long lines as we normally see in the dry season. Don't be afraid to scope out different parts of the beach this time of year too because the bars move around so much. If it is mushy or not breaking in one area, head to another peak and you could find a totally different wave with more power and even barrels.