Surf Forecasts:
Sandy Hook/The Cove surf forecast from 31 Aug 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 3 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 6s period, SE swell with 75 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Sandy Hook/The Cove this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Sandy Hook/The Cove in the next 16 days are 1.0m 6s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 03) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.7m 5s period and expected on Thursday (Sep 03) at 2PM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Thu 3rd Sep) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Sandy Hook/The Cove over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Grab your board, but maybe don't bother waxing it just yet. We're looking at a long, dry stretch ahead for Sandy Hook/The Cove. The entire 16-day window is a total bust for anything you'd want to paddle out into. There isn't a single recommendable session in the entire forecast. I'm talking flat spells, wind-blown junk, and just plain poor conditions.
The water temp is sitting at 75°, which feels a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but you won't be missing much.
We start off with barely a ripple on Monday, August 31st. A tiny 0.7ft SSE swell with a weak 5-second period and a combined energy of just 4. It's a total non-starter. Tuesday is even smaller at 0.3ft. By Wednesday, September 2nd, a bit of size shows up with 3ft to 3ft of windswell from the east, but it's hammered by strong onshore winds, making it a complete mess. The energy climbs into the moderate range (120) on Wednesday afternoon, but it's all raw, choppy power.
Thursday morning, September 3rd, sees a 3ft swell from the SE with a 6-second period (energy of 125), but it's crossed up by a strong westerly breeze. The afternoon cleans up with a stiff offshore wind, but the swell drops to a pathetic 1ft. The pattern repeats: small windswells, poor winds.
Toward the end of the first week and into the second, the swell sizes bottom out, with most days seeing nothing over 2ft. There's a glimmer on Saturday, September 12th, where a 3ft south swell with a short 6-second period pops up, giving a moderate energy of 108, but the winds are cross-offshore and messy. It's still rated as poor surf, so don't get your hopes up.
The last week is anemic. Tiny 0.3ft to 1ft swells with mostly onshore or cross-shore winds. The 15-second period swell on Tuesday, September 15th, is from the east at a mere 0.3ft—a ghost swell. It's not happening.
Honestly, with these conditions, you’d have more luck rigging a kite. The setup is much more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing right now. Just leave the shortboard in the car. This is one of those stretches where a blank run is just normal for the area. Forecasts can change, but right now, there's nothing on the table.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Tue night. Warm (max 30°C on Tue afternoon, min 20°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (light winds from the S on Mon afternoon, fresh winds from the E by Wed afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Thu morning. Warm (max 30°C on Thu afternoon, min 19°C on Sat night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | Thursday 3 | Friday 4 | Saturday 5 | Sunday 6 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | E 4 | E 6 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | SE 6 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | NE 3 | E 7 | E 9 | ESE 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 49 | 70 | 56 | 75 | 27 | 34 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 39 | 26 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | on | on | on | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | off |
High Tide | 9:57AM1.55m | 10:17PM1.44m | 10:42AM1.57m | 11:09PM1.37m | 11:35AM1.56m | 00:07AM1.30m | 12:34PM1.55m | 1:09AM1.25m | 1:36PM1.54m | 2:14AM1.23m | 2:41PM1.54m | 3:22AM1.25m | 3:51PM1.55m | 4:33AM1.31m | |||||||
Low Tide | 4:17PM0.13m | 4:24AM0.05m | 5:02PM0.18m | 5:03AM0.10m | 5:54PM0.24m | 5:49AM0.17m | 7:02PM0.30m | 6:51AM0.24m | 8:22PM0.31m | 8:13AM0.27m | 9:35PM0.26m | 9:30AM0.24m | 10:36PM0.17m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | |  |  | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — |
 | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:25 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:22 | — | — | 7:20 | — |
mm | — | 1 | 2 | — | 1 | 13 | — | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 22 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 30 | 26 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 30 | 28 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 24 | 21 |
Feels °C | 21 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 33 | 28 | 19 | 19 | 25 | 19 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 28 | 25 | 18 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 18 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 5 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 10 | ESE 7 | SE 6 | SE 5 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | E 7 | E 9 | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 50 | 56 | 38 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 24 | 39 | 26 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | S 4 | ESE 3 | SSE 3 | — | — | S 4 | — | SE 10 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | S 6 | S 6 | SE 8 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | 14 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | E 14 | — | — | — | S 5 | — | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | S 6 | S 6 | — | — | S 6 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | — | — | 2 | — | 27 | 34 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 1 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSE 4 | SSE 3 | — | SE 7 | E 4 | E 6 | ESE 6 | — | SE 6 | — | — | NNW 2 | NW 3 | NNW 3 | NNW 3 | — | NE 3 | NNE 3 | — | — |
| kJ | — | 2 | 2 | — | 7 | 10 | 49 | 70 | — | 75 | — | — | 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | — | 7 | 3 | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1004 | 848 | 423 | 551 | 264 | 167 | 477 | 181 | 88 | 35 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 64 | 132 | 681 | 334 | 57 | 30 | 334 | 11 |
Best forecast wave conditions in New Jersey | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Sandy Hook/The Cove surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Sandy Hook/The Cove Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Sandy Hook/The Cove provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Sandy Hook/The Cove can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Sandy Hook/The Cove surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Sandy Hook/The Cove) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Sandy Hook/The Cove may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Sandy Hook/The Cove is 13 km (8 miles) from Long Branch. If you plan a vacation in New Jersey, look for hotels and other accommodation in Long Branch. Long Branch has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest