The report · South Padre Island · Kite · December · 6 pages

WindChaserSpot report

Texas, United States

South Padre Island

KiteDecember

46% of December days clear 12 kt for three daylight hours or more.

December sits outside the best months here. This report carries the record for December as it is, and no direction or session norm, because there is none to quote. Section 02 shows the year-by-year spread; section 06 shows which months to come instead.

01Hour-by-hour & month-by-month windrecord only02The month's own records03Full stays, schools & kit04Per-launch notesno data05The jetty, the pass & the tide06Getting there, packing & best months07Sources, and their limits
Guide
Compiled by WindChaser
25 Sep 2026Record
2018 to 2026, hourly
Open-Meteo, NCEP HRRR CONUS 3 kmNormals
2018 to 2026
Eight Decembers
South Padre Island · Kite · December · Generated 22 Oct 2026 from the 2018 to 2026 record1 of 6
01

Hour-by-hour & month-by-month wind

Rideable-day share by month, all three sports

Share of days with three or more daylight hours over each sport's threshold, counted from the record at 12 kt, Windsurf 13 kt and Wing 12 kt. South Padre Island CG Station (PCGT2) has been checked against the model at 12 kn only, so the 13 kn Windsurf figure is counted but not checked against it.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecKite5155566466563430465446Windsurf454648545547422324374840Wing5155566466563430465446

Blue fill scales with the share. Selected month outlined. Threshold per row: Kite 12 kt · Windsurf 13 kt · Wing 12 kt.

Where the wind sits, December

Share of daylight hours in each speed band, blue above the threshold.

4–7
8–11
12–15
16–19
20–23
24–27
28–31

Not drawn: 12% of daylight hours under 4 kt.

When in the day, December

Share of days over 12 kt at each daylight hour.

8am
9
10
11
12pm
1pm
2
3
4
5
6pm

Rideable hours, not all hours. Every wind figure in this report is the mean over hours above the threshold.

South Padre Island · Kite · December · Generated 22 Oct 2026 from the 2018 to 2026 record2 of 6
02

December's own records

The month's own figures from eight Decembers in the record, 2018 to 2026. Not the year's average.

Rideable days14 of 31Eight Decembers in the record
Strongest measured gust46 ktDecember 2017, South Padre Island Coast Guard station, 5.2 km away. Twenty Decembers measured, 2004 to 2025. Station, not the beach.
Wind, rideable hours16 ktMean over daylight hours at 12 kt+
Air20.8°CMaximum
Hours over 12 kt4.2 a dayDaylight, all days averaged
BeforeNovember54%16 rideable days in 30
Your monthDecember46%14 rideable days in 31
AfterJanuary51%16 rideable days in 31

What the percentage hides. A month at 80% can be twenty-four steady days or three windy weeks broken by a dead front.

South Padre Island · Kite · December · Generated 22 Oct 2026 from the 2018 to 2026 record3 of 6
03

Full stays, schools & kit

Stays

Heyl Place townhouseTownhouse · Windsurf IncThree bedrooms, let by Windsurf Inc, three-night minimum.
Island Rentals SPIRental agency · Condos and housesCondo and rental agency that ProKite suggests first, managing ocean-front and bayside places across the island, with a discount for quoting PROKITE.
Isla Blanca ParkCampsite · South endCounty park and the island’s campground, home to the Jetty and Dolphin Cove launches for waves and wing in south and south-east winds, a drive from the South Flats.
Courtyard South Padre IslandHotel · 700 m to the lesson lotHotel on ProKite’s lodging list, about 0.7 km from the lot behind the Convention Center where ProKite sets up lessons on the South Flats.
Lighthouse InnInn · 5 km to the South FlatsSmaller inn at 1701 Padre Boulevard on ProKite’s lodging list, about 5 km south of the South Flats.
Padre South HotelHotel · 5 km to the South FlatsBeachfront hotel on Gulf Boulevard from ProKite’s lodging list, about 5 km south of the South Flats lesson area.
Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre IslandResort · South endResort at 310 Padre Boulevard, formerly The Pearl, about a 20-minute walk from Isla Blanca Park and the Jetty and about 6.6 km from the South Flats.

Lessons

ProKite South PadreSchool · Kite · WingLessons and trip planning on Padre Boulevard, open all year.
Windsurf IncSchool · Kite · WindsurfWindsurf and kite lessons directly on the Laguna Madre.
Air Padre KiteboardingSchool · Kite · Boat-supportedPrivate, boat-supported kite lessons on the Laguna Madre from a mini-yacht, with two-way radio helmets. Lesson kit costs extra.

Kit

ProKite South PadreRental · Kite and wing rental by the day, and rescue on call.
Windsurf IncRental · Kite · WindsurfWindsurf and kite rental by the hour or the day.

Price band $ to $$$ only where sourced; none shown means none held. Contact details and brands stocked join this table when the operator directory is connected.

04

Per-launch notes

South Flats
Low—Mid—High—

The tide can rise higher than visitors expect. Hours per tide state unknown until tide data arrives.

Isla Blanca Park
Low—Mid—High—

Brazos Santiago Pass runs to about 2.8 knots on the flood. No tide windows yet.

End of the Road
Low—Mid—High—

No tide information found for this launch.

Tide data not yet available for this spot. The record holds wind, air and waves, not tide. Until a tide source is connected, the tables above stay empty rather than estimated. What the guide says about tide is on the next page, in words.

South Padre Island · Kite · December · Generated 22 Oct 2026 from the 2018 to 2026 record4 of 6
05

The jetty, the pass & the tide

Every hazard on the spot page, repeated here in full. Read this before you get wet.

Conditions change. Check local rules and conditions before you ride.

The jetty and the passGranite jetty rocks and a boat channel lie at the south end of Isla Blanca Park. The predicted flow at the entrance to Brazos Santiago Pass runs to about 2.8 knots on the flood. Do not learn here.
Rip currentsRip currents run in the exposed Gulf surf at Isla Blanca.
Tide on the flatsThe tide on the flats can rise higher than visitors expect. Cars parked on the flats can flood, and riders can be cut off by deep water.
No public rescueThere is no public kite rescue on the island. ProKite offers water and beach recovery on call, as a paid service.
The jetty

Granite jetty rocks lie at the south end of Isla Blanca Park, beside a boat channel. Keep well upwind of them in the Gulf surf. Isla Blanca is not a place to learn.

The pass, rips and the tide

The predicted flow at the entrance to Brazos Santiago Pass runs to about 2.8 knots on the flood. Rip currents run in the Gulf surf. On the flats the tide can rise higher than visitors expect: cars can flood and riders can be cut off by deep water. There is no public kite rescue on the island.

06

Getting there, packing & best months

Nearest airportBrownsville (BRO)Brownsville South Padre Island International, close to the island.
SeasonMarch and JuneThe pick of the months the record publishes; November and January are close behind. February, April, May and July show no figure.
Getting aroundCarThe flats, the Jetty and the End of the Road are spread along the island.
What to pack
FlatsAnkle to waist deep. Flat water on the Laguna Madre for miles, per a spot guide.BeachSand. Sandy launches on the flats and the Gulf; granite rocks at the jetty.Water20 to 30°C. March to July, from compiled research, not measured. A spring suit in April, a shorty from June.LaunchFlats or Jetty. The South Flats for lessons and flat water; Isla Blanca for waves.KitRent. ProKite and Windsurf Inc rent kit.
Kite sizes for December

December has no session mean to size from, so no sizes are given.

JFMAMJJASOND

Best months, Kite. Record.

South Padre Island · Kite · December · Generated 22 Oct 2026 from the 2018 to 2026 record5 of 6
07

Sources, and their limits

Where each section of this report comes from. Record is measured. Modelled is computed by a formula because no measurement exists yet; it looks like data and is not. Written is WindChaser's editorial copy, compiled from the sources below.

§WhatSourceLimit
01Kite month sharesRecordCounted at 12 kt for three daylight hours from gfs_hrrr at 3 km, cell 1.41 km from the spot, January 2018 to September 2026, 8 to 9 years a month, corrected by local hour against NOAA’s South Padre Island Coast Guard station 5.22 km away. February, April, May and July are withheld: their error out of sample is over 10 points.
01Windsurf and Wing month sharesRecordCounted at 13 kt (Windsurf) and 12 kt (Wing) from the same series, by the same rule as the Kite share.
01Direction, strength, when it blowsWrittenDirection from spot guides (Kite Insider, ProKite, Mackite). Strength and time of day read from the record.
02The month’s recordsRecordEight to nine years a month, corrected against the Coast Guard station. No share shows for February, April, May and July.
03Stays, schools and kitWrittenChecked on each business’s own website or a named rider source, most recently on 27 September 2026. Price bands only where a price is published.
04Tide windowsMissingNo tide source in the pipeline. The section renders its empty state.
05Hazards, jetty, pass, tideWrittenFrom spot guides and ProKite, not surveyed. No emergency or rules page for the island was read first hand.
06Airports, access, packing, kite sizesWrittenAirport from its own site. Water temperature from compiled research, not measured. Sizes derived from the session mean.
MapsMissingNo drawn maps for this spot. No surveyed coordinates for the launches.

The record

Hourly wind, 2018 to 2026, from NCEP HRRR CONUS via Open-Meteo: a 3 km grid, read at the cell 1.4 km from the spot. It knows the wind over the cell, not the gust on the sand in front of you, and it knows the bearing, not the coastline: "side-onshore" is a rider's reading of the bearing. Each month is counted over eight to nine years.

What we could not source for South Padre Island

Crowds by month: no count exists for South Padre Island yet. A water quality classification, and a first-hand reading of the local vibe. Tide tables and per-launch tide windows. The island’s beach rules and an emergency page read first hand. Figures for February, April, May and July, where the station check left too wide a margin. Surveyed launch coordinates, and a windsurf launch named by a source. A measured water temperature. A licensed photograph.

Conditions change. Check local rules and conditions before you ride.

Compiled by WindChaser, 25 Sep 2026. Data: NOAA Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). Licence: US public domain (NOAA CO-OPS). Hero photograph on the spot page by Pierce Martin, CC BY 2.0. Report generated 22 Oct 2026 from record version 2026.10; a report and its spot page are rendered from the same data and cannot disagree.

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