Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 25 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 27 Jul, 10AM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 9s period, NNW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 25 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 10s period, WNW swell with 1,480 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 27 Jul, 10AM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 9s period with NNW 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 Monday (Jul 27) at 10AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.7m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 1.4m and 10s. 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 2.5m 10s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 25) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.9m 5s period and expected on Friday (Jul 31) at 1AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10AM (Mon 27th Jul) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 10AM (Mon 27th Jul) | 5.5ft (1.7m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Sat 25th Jul) | 8ft (2.5m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what we’ve got on the horizon.
The next few days are a write-off at The Cove. We’re looking at a full two days of nothing worth paddling for, with strong WNW wind and messy, blown-out conditions. The water temp is around 55.6°, pretty much normal for the time of year, so nothing to worry about there.
Things start to turn around on Monday, July 27th. The wind swings SW, light and cross-off, bringing clean waves around 5.6ft from the NNW. It’s not huge, but it’s clean and the energy is moderate. Tuesday the 28th is a good shout too, with a light SSE breeze and clean 4.6ft waves from the north. Solid, clean options for a mid-week paddle.
Friday the 31st is the real standout. Morning sees a clean 5.2ft west swell with light offshore wind, and the energy is solid. It looks like the best session of the first week.
Further out, Wednesday, August 5th shows another promising window. A clean 5.9ft west-northwest swell with light offshore wind, energy building. Then Thursday morning, August 6th looks exceptional – 8.2ft from the WNW, glassy conditions, and strong energy. That’s one for the experienced crew only, but if you’ve got the skill, it’s going to be memorable. For the rest of the second week, wind messes things up again, so you’ll want to hit those windows when they appear.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Mon morning. Very mild (max 14°C on Mon afternoon, min 10°C on Sun night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WNW on Sat morning, light winds from the S by Mon night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 13mm), heaviest on Wed afternoon. Warm (max 20°C on Wed afternoon, min 12°C on Thu night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 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) | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | NNW 9 | NNW 9 | NNW 9 | NNW 9 | W 10 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 8 | W 8 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 3843 | 2637 | 1156 | 544 | 402 | 543 | 464 | 400 | 325 | 339 | 293 | 230 | 152 | 155 | 155 | 89 | 142 | 300 | 482 | 373 | 327 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | off | cross-off | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 7:01PM4.14m | 7:34AM4.01m | 7:51PM4.32m | 8:24AM4.15m | 8:32PM4.50m | 9:05AM4.29m | 9:09PM4.66m | 9:40AM4.43m | 9:42PM4.80m | 10:12AM4.53m | 10:14PM4.89m | 10:43AM4.59m | 10:44PM4.94m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:46PM2.31m | 1:24AM2.19m | 1:36PM2.21m | 2:10AM1.96m | 2:18PM2.06m | 2:49AM1.76m | 2:55PM1.92m | 3:24AM1.58m | 3:30PM1.78m | 3:58AM1.44m | 4:04PM1.69m | 4:30AM1.35m | 4:37PM1.63m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | | |  | | |  | |  | |  |  | | |  | | | | |
 | 4:48 | — | — | 4:50 | — | — | 4:52 | — | — | 4:54 | — | — | 4:56 | — | — | 4:58 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — |
 | — | — | 9:52 | — | — | 9:50 | — | — | 9:47 | — | — | 9:45 | — | — | 9:44 | — | — | 9:42 | — | — | 9:38 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 15 |
Feels °C | 4 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | NNW 9 | W 10 | NNW 9 | NNW 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 9 | N 8 | N 8 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 |
| kJ | — | — | 1156 | 544 | 388 | 346 | 464 | 400 | 325 | 339 | 293 | 230 | 152 | 155 | 155 | 89 | 66 | 300 | 482 | 373 | 327 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | N 8 | NNW 8 | WNW 10 | — | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | E 5 | N 8 | N 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 |
| kJ | — | — | 217 | 286 | 402 | — | 408 | 400 | 320 | 212 | 164 | 127 | 68 | 65 | 89 | 46 | 1 | 46 | 18 | 19 | 19 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ESE 4 | SE 4 | — | SE 7 | E 7 | E 6 | SE 6 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | — | — | — | NNW 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 8 | W 5 | SSW 3 | — | — |
| kJ | 3843 | 2637 | — | — | — | 543 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 142 | 42 | 2 | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 668 | 813 | 7 | 34 | 207 | 198 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 63 | 171 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 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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