Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 5 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 9 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 9s period, W swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 7 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 7s period, W swell with 453 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 5 Jul, 4PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 9s period with WNW 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 Sunday (Jul 05) at 4PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 9s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Cove in the next 16 days are 2.2m 7s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 07) at 4AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 3s period and expected on Friday (Jul 10) at 4PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4PM (Sun 5th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Thu 9th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 4AM (Tue 7th Jul) | 7ft (2.2m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, let’s talk surf. For the next couple of weeks, the swell is going to be a real mixed bag—nothing to get your heart racing, and a lot of time spent just waiting. The first proper chance to get wet is Sunday, July 5th at The Cove. It’s a reef break that needs a NW swell, and it’s fairly consistent, though you might have to share it with a few others. Water temp is 54°F, which is about standard for this time of year.
Sunday morning serves up a 4ft WNW swell with a 9-second period and moderate wave energy (243). The wind is light out of the W at 6 mph, blowing cross—so there’s a little texture on the water. Sunday afternoon is the real gem: the wind goes glassy at 3 mph from the E, and the waves drop to a clean 3ft. The swell direction is still WNW at 9 seconds. That afternoon window is the best you’ll see across the whole two weeks—clean, glassy, even if the size is modest.
Monday falls apart quick. Light rain and a cross wind from the W at 9 mph kick up a bumpy 3ft wave, then the afternoon gets ugly: 5ft with a 22 mph cross wind, lumpy and messy. Tuesday and Wednesday stay in the same rough groove—strong cross winds, lumpy chop, and bad conditions for paddling. The swell holds around 4ft to 6ft, but the period is short (7-9 seconds), so it’s all a bit choppy and drawn out.
Thursday, July 9th brings a glassy morning with light SSW winds at 3 mph and a 3ft wave, but energy is weak (149). That’s the last real highlight before we hit a long, flat run. From Thursday afternoon all the way to Sunday, July 19th, wave heights barely go over 3ft and mostly sit at 2ft to 3ft. Winds are all over the place, mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the energy drops to weak levels (some days as low as 27). It’s a solid week-plus of very little to ride.
Monday, July 20th might bring a small bump to 3ft with clean cross-off winds from the SW, but the energy stays moderate (173), and the trend is clean but inconsistent.
The true standout is Sunday afternoon, July 5th at The Cove—that glassy wind and clean 3ft wave is as good as it gets around here for a while. The rest of the period is mostly waiting or scratching for tiny, wind-affected leftovers. Keep your eyes peeled, but don’t plan your week around it.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 34mm), heaviest during Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 14°C on Sun morning, min 11°C on Sun afternoon). Winds increasing (calm on Sun afternoon, fresh winds from the W by Mon afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 22mm), heaviest during Fri night. Warm (max 21°C on Thu morning, min 13°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | |||||||||||||||
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) | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 7 | W 7 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 243 | 158 | 92 | 115 | 271 | 401 | 319 | 343 | 313 | 229 | 129 | 196 | 126 | 194 | 219 | 74 | 73 | 244 | 290 | 230 | 160 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | glassy | off | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | off | glassy | on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 12:55PM4.28m | 00:54AM4.60m | 1:39PM4.22m | 1:39AM4.51m | 2:30PM4.17m | 2:32AM4.42m | 3:28PM4.15m | 3:34AM4.35m | 4:32PM4.19m | 4:44AM4.32m | 5:39PM4.30m | 5:57AM4.37m | 6:43PM4.48m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:47PM2.05m | 7:22AM1.70m | 7:31PM2.16m | 8:10AM1.79m | 8:23PM2.27m | 9:06AM1.88m | 9:27PM2.34m | 10:13AM1.93m | 10:45PM2.31m | 11:26AM1.91m | 00:02AM2.14m | 12:33PM1.81m | 1:08AM1.85m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  |  | |  |  |  |  | | |  |  | |  | | |  | |
 | 4:13 | — | — | 4:15 | — | — | 4:16 | — | — | 4:18 | — | — | 4:18 | — | — | 4:20 | — | — | 4:22 | — | — |
 | — | — | 10:22 | — | — | 10:21 | — | — | 10:20 | — | — | 10:19 | — | — | 10:17 | — | — | 10:16 | — | — | 10:15 |
mm | — | 5 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 3 | — |
Temp °C | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 12 |
Feels °C | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 8 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 8 | N 8 | N 10 | N 8 | N 8 | N 7 | N 7 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 |
| kJ | 243 | 158 | 92 | 115 | 32 | 65 | 68 | 58 | 39 | 37 | 129 | 196 | 126 | 194 | 219 | 74 | 73 | 244 | 290 | 230 | 160 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | N 7 | N 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 7 | N 6 | NNE 10 | NNE 9 | NNE 9 | NNE 9 | NNE 9 | NE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | N 7 |
| kJ | — | — | 17 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 23 | 7 | 20 | 28 | 26 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 12 | NNE 6 | N 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | W 8 | W 7 | W 7 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ESE 3 | — | — | NNW 5 | N 4 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 271 | 401 | 319 | 343 | 313 | 229 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 24 | 18 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 369 | 34 | 17 | 59 | 10 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 26 | 0 | 72 | 87 | 87 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Scotland - North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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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