Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 25 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 1 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 10s period, N swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 30 Aug, 4PM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 9s period, NW swell with 764 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 1 Sep, 1AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 10s period with N swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Cove this week:
The surf forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 01) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.2m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Cove in the next 16 days are 2.2m 9s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 30) at 4PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.3m 5s period and expected on Tuesday (Sep 01) at 7AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Tue 1st Sep) | 4ft (1.2m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Tue 1st Sep) | 4ft (1.2m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 4PM (Sun 30th Aug) | 7ft (2.2m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, folks, Rusty here with a look at the forecast. It's gonna be a game of patience, because the next week or so is going to be a flat, frustrating stretch.
Straight up, from August 25th through the rest of the month, the surf is tiny. We’re talking knee-high or less, with hardly any energy behind it. The wind is often offshore, which would be sweet for shape, but there's just nothing to shape. It's a lot of looking at a flat, clean ocean.
Things perk up a little at the start of September. On the 1st, we see a little bump from the north at about 5 ft, and the wind is cross-off, so it’s clean. But it’s still not setting the world on fire.
Now, here's what you've been waiting for. The one that gets me a little fired up. Circle the morning of Sunday, September 6th. The Cove is your spot. We’ve got a solid 7 ft groundswell from the NNW, with a long 11-second period. That's a lot of water moving. The energy is pumping at 1167, so you know it's got some grunt. That swell direction and period will be best for the reef to keep the waves from just closing out. The wind is a super light 9 mph from the SSW – practically glassy. This is an intermediate-to-expert wave at that size. Beginners should stay on the beach for this one.
That window is tight, though. By the afternoon, the wind is howling 25 mph from the SE, so get out there early. The water temp is about what you'd expect for this time of year, nothing weird.
After that, we get into a sloppy, windy mess. The 8th and 9th have size, but it's blown out with 25-28 mph cross-shore winds. That's more for the kite crew.
So don't waste your energy this week. The one to aim for is the morning of Sunday, September 6th at The Cove. Clean, powerful groundswell. Don't sleep on it.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Wed afternoon, min 12°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Fri morning. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat morning, min 10°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the WSW on Sat night, light winds from the N by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | |||||||||||||||
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) | W 10 | W 10 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | WNW 11 | W 10 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | NW 7 | W 5 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | NW 8 | NW 9 | NNW 9 | NNW 8 | NNW 8 | N 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 311 | 146 | 50 | 29 | 12 | 22 | 67 | 57 | 35 | 11 | 27 | 134 | 93 | 77 | 103 | 424 | 764 | 411 | 197 | 184 | 302 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:10PM4.48m | 8:43AM4.38m | 8:45PM4.70m | 9:14AM4.57m | 9:16PM4.89m | 9:44AM4.72m | 9:46PM5.03m | 10:13AM4.81m | 10:16PM5.11m | 10:42AM4.84m | 10:47PM5.13m | 11:13AM4.82m | 11:19PM5.06m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:59PM2.11m | 2:26AM1.71m | 2:35PM1.88m | 2:59AM1.48m | 3:08PM1.68m | 3:31AM1.30m | 3:40PM1.52m | 4:03AM1.17m | 4:11PM1.43m | 4:35AM1.10m | 4:44PM1.40m | 5:08AM1.12m | 5:17PM1.45m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | |  | |  |  |  |  |  | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 5:56 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — |
 | — | 8:36 | — | — | 8:32 | — | — | 8:30 | — | — | 8:27 | — | — | 8:23 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:19 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 12 | 16 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
Feels °C | 11 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 10 | W 10 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | WNW 11 | W 10 | W 9 | W 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 7 | NW 9 | NW 11 | NW 9 | NNW 9 | NNW 8 | NNW 8 | N 10 |
| kJ | 311 | 146 | 50 | 29 | 12 | 22 | 67 | 57 | 35 | 31 | 50 | 36 | 18 | 8 | 31 | 134 | 764 | 411 | 197 | 184 | 302 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 6 | N 6 | — | — | WNW 7 | W 7 | N 8 | N 7 | ESE 7 | W 8 | NNE 4 | NNE 6 | N 7 | N 7 | N 6 | N 13 | N 12 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 |
| kJ | 1 | 1 | — | — | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 23 | 22 | 126 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | N 8 | N 8 | — | — | N 6 | N 8 | N 6 | N 8 | — | N 9 | E 6 | — | — | W 12 | W 11 | W 10 | N 9 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 9 | 18 | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 3 | SE 4 | ESE 4 | SE 4 | ESE 4 | ESE 4 | E 3 | ESE 4 | ESE 4 | ENE 4 | NW 7 | W 5 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | NW 8 | — | — | — | SSE 2 | SE 4 |
| kJ | 2 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 28 | 8 | 8 | 27 | 134 | 93 | 77 | 103 | 424 | — | — | — | 1 | 12 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 34 | 34 | 170 | 170 | 34 | 9 | 17 | 289 | 167 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 447 | 412 | 34 | 35 | 32 | 32 | 21 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Scotland - North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our 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 The Cove Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for 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 The Cove can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our 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 (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 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.
Are you planning a holiday in Scotland - North Coast? If you are looking for accommodation near The Cove, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Scotland - North Coast, consider staying in Scrabster which is 7 km (4 miles) away. Other places in and around Scotland - North Coast where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Wick which is 39 km (24 miles) away and Kirkwall, 56 km (35 miles) away.
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