
Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 6 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 7 Jul, 10AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 9s period, W swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 10 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period, W swell with 367 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 7 Jul, 10AM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 9s period with W 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 (Jul 07) at 10AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.8m and 8s. 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 1.3m 10s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 10) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 2s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 09) at 7AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10AM (Tue 7th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 10AM (Tue 7th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Fri 10th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's coming down the pipe.
Overall, the pattern for the next couple of weeks is a bit frustrating. We’ve got a few windows of clean, rideable swell, but they are separated by some long, flat, or wind-blown gaps. The water temp is sitting right on the seasonal average at 54°F, so nothing weird or special there for your first session.
We kick off on Monday, July 6th with a tiny 3ft west swell at The Cove. The morning is dead glassy, which is a rare gift. This is a reef break that’s fairly consistent, but with the swell period at only 8 seconds, you're not getting any real grunt behind it. The combined energy is weak (143). It’s a marginal, fragile window. The afternoon gets nuked by a 22 mph cross-wind, so forget it after lunch.
Tuesday, July 7th is the best shot in the first week. Morning and afternoon both look clean with glassy conditions and a light 3 mph wind. The swell picks up a touch to 4ft in the morning, and the period lengthens to 9 seconds, giving it a bit better shape. Combined energy is moderate (260). The afternoon holds at 3ft and remains glassy. This is your standout for the start of the run. It’s only an intermediate-level wave at 4ft, so it’s good for most of us. Just keep an eye out for the crowd, as this spot can get surfed sometimes.
Wednesday the 8th turns sloppy. The morning has clean 3ft waves but it’s underwhelming, and the afternoon jumps to 5ft with a short 6-second period and a messy cross-wind. That’s poor.
Thursday the 9th shows a decent morning window: 4ft, 9-second west swell with a light cross-offshore wind. Combined energy is moderate (262) and it’s clean. The afternoon shifts to a onshore wind though, making it marginal.
From Friday, July 10th through Monday, July 13th, the surf quality drops completely. We get consistently poor conditions with cross-onshore winds and weak swell dropping from 4ft to just 2ft. That’s a dead 4-day stretch right there. Don’t bother paddling out.
Things look up again on Tuesday, July 14th. The morning brings a 3ft west-northwest swell with a very long 12-second period, and a clean cross-offshore wind from the southeast. The combined energy is moderate (300). This long period means the groundswell has serious travel, and on a reef setup like The Cove, that can lead to some nice, lined-up waves. The afternoon stays clean at 4ft with 11-second swell, though the conditions are called marginal, so catch it early.
After that, from Wednesday the 15th onward, it all fades again. Swell drops to under 2ft and stays minimal through the 19th. However, on Monday, July 20th, the swell ramps up hard. The afternoon shows a 8ft west swell, but with a 10-second period and a brutal 25 mph cross-wind. Combined energy jumps to 1216, which is strong, but the wind will make it a messy, lumpy mess at the reef. That’s expert-only territory if you’re brave, and honestly, it looks more interesting for kite-surfing than clean paddle surfing.
Tuesday, July 21st has the same issue: 8ft of west swell at 11 seconds, strong energy (1694), but a 16-18 mph cross-onshore wind blows it out. The setup is too raw.
So, to sum it up: Tuesday, July 7th is your cleanest, most reliable day, and Tuesday morning, July 14th is the promising long-period pick if you can wait a week.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastHeavy rain (total 21mm), heaviest during Mon afternoon. Warm (max 20°C on Wed afternoon, min 11°C on Mon night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 3mm), mostly falling on Fri morning. Warm (max 20°C on Thu morning, min 11°C on Fri afternoon). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | |||||||||||||||
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 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 6 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 7 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
91 | 239 | 223 | 180 | 159 | 287 | 109 | 170 | 280 | 230 | 299 | 152 | 289 | 333 | 339 | 319 | 259 | 189 | 107 | 58 | 41 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | on | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | on | on | glassy |
High Tide | 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 | 7:09AM4.50m | 7:42PM4.70m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 1:33PM1.67m | 2:06AM1.53m | ||||||||
4:15 | — | — | 4:16 | — | — | 4:18 | — | — | 4:18 | — | — | 4:20 | — | — | 4:22 | — | — | 4:24 | — | — | |
— | — | 10:21 | — | — | 10:20 | — | — | 10:19 | — | — | 10:17 | — | — | 10:16 | — | — | 10:15 | — | — | 10:14 | |
mm | 6 | 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 |
Feels °C | 14 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 8 | N 8 | W 8 | W 9 | W 9 | N 7 | W 9 | NNE 6 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 7 |
91 | 32 | 223 | 180 | 159 | 34 | 109 | 14 | 280 | 230 | 299 | 152 | 289 | 333 | 339 | 319 | 259 | 189 | 107 | 58 | 41 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 8 | — | N 10 | N 8 | N 7 | NNE 8 | N 7 | N 6 | N 6 | NNE 10 | NNE 10 | NNE 9 | NE 9 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NE 8 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 6 |
52 | — | 90 | 80 | 54 | 13 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 31 | 17 | 19 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | W 8 | — | — | — | W 9 | W 5 | W 6 | — | SSE 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
— | 239 | — | — | — | 287 | 36 | 170 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 51 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 11 | 63 | 21 | 34 | 16 | 0 | 28 | 183 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Scotland - North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
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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.










