Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 19 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 25 Jul, 1PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 11s period, WNW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 24 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 10s period, WNW swell with 1,696 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 25 Jul, 1PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 11s 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 Saturday (Jul 25) at 1PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 3.0m and 11s period. 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 3.0m 10s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 24) 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 0.5m 3s period and expected on Sunday (Jul 26) at 1AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1PM (Sat 25th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 1PM (Sat 25th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Fri 24th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here with the outlook for The Cove. It’s a reef break that’s fairly consistent and exposed to the north-west, but right now we’re looking at a long stretch of nothing. From Sunday the 19th through Thursday the 24th, the conditions are just plain ugly – cross-winds, lumpy chop, and the swell is messy. The combined energy stays weak to moderate, but the wind and wave state kill any chance of a decent wave. You’re better off staying home.
Then Friday the 25th – that’s the day that gets the blood pumping. Saturday morning, the 25th, the swell is pumping at 10.0 ft from the west-north-west, with a period of 10s and a cross-off breeze from the south-west at 15 mph. The energy is strong (1650) and the face is clean, but the tide conditions are a bit iffy – still a solid option for experienced surfers. But the real standout is Saturday afternoon: the swell drops a touch to 8.2 ft, still from the west-north-west, but the period stretches to 11s – that’s groundswell, and it’s going to wrap nicely into the reef. The wind goes light from the south-south-west at 6 mph, cross-off, and the wave state is clean. The energy is still very strong (1456). This is the best window of the whole forecast. The Cove handles long-period swell like a dream, and with light offshore winds, the waves will be groomed. Crowds are possible here sometimes, so get in early. If you’re not an expert, that 8.2 ft may be a bit heavy, but for the experienced crew it’s on.
After that, the quality drops again. Sunday the 26th through Wednesday the 30th is mostly poor – cross-winds, lumpy, and the energy is moderate at best. Thursday the 30th has a bump of 8.2 ft swell but the wind is strong and cross-on, making it choppy. Friday the 31st shows some hope: morning has 8.2 ft from the west-north-west, period 10s,
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 14°C on Sun morning, min 11°C on Sat night). Winds increasing (light winds from the NW on Sat night, strong winds from the W by Tue afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Thu afternoon, min 11°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (light winds from the WNW on Wed night, strong winds from the W by Fri morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | |||||||||||||||
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 7 | WNW 4 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | NW 8 | NW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | W 6 | W 7 | W 8 | W 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 84 | 47 | 119 | 226 | 202 | 199 | 211 | 335 | 464 | 398 | 268 | 174 | 173 | 154 | 382 | 1068 | 1622 | 1658 | 1650 | 1456 | 684 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 1:16PM4.50m | 1:14AM4.84m | 2:04PM4.29m | 2:03AM4.58m | 2:54PM4.11m | 2:57AM4.31m | 3:51PM3.98m | 4:00AM4.08m | 4:54PM3.95m | 5:13AM3.94m | 6:01PM4.00m | 6:29AM3.92m | 7:01PM4.14m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:51AM1.22m | 6:58PM1.91m | 7:38AM1.51m | 7:46PM2.13m | 8:29AM1.81m | 8:40PM2.34m | 9:27AM2.09m | 9:49PM2.49m | 10:35AM2.28m | 11:12PM2.51m | 11:45AM2.35m | 00:26AM2.39m | 12:46PM2.31m | 1:24AM2.19m | |||||||
 |  |  | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | |  |  | | | |
 | 4:35 | — | — | 4:37 | — | — | 4:39 | — | — | 4:41 | — | — | 4:43 | — | — | 4:46 | — | — | 4:48 | — | — |
 | — | — | 10:04 | — | — | 10:01 | — | — | 10:00 | — | — | 9:58 | — | — | 9:55 | — | — | 9:53 | — | — | 9:52 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | — | 5 |
Temp °C | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
Feels °C | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 13 | 14 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 6 | N 6 | WNW 11 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | N 8 | N 8 | N 8 | N 8 | NW 8 | NNE 7 | N 6 | N 6 | N 7 | N 6 | — | — | — | WNW 11 | WNW 10 |
| kJ | 25 | 10 | 43 | 37 | 33 | 50 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 268 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 1456 | 684 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | N 6 | N 6 | N 6 | N 9 | — | — | — | — | N 7 | N 7 | — | E 8 | W 13 | — | — | — | — | — | NNW 10 |
| kJ | 31 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 13 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 14 | — | 1 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 9 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 9 | NE 9 | NE 8 | E 7 | N 7 | N 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 7 | WNW 4 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 8 | NW 8 | — | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | W 6 | W 7 | W 8 | W 9 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | — | S 3 |
| kJ | 84 | 47 | 119 | 226 | 202 | 199 | 211 | 335 | 464 | 398 | — | 174 | 173 | 154 | 382 | 1068 | 1622 | 1658 | 1650 | — | 6 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 223 | 63 | 148 | 186 | 958 | 309 | 538 | 954 | 418 | 369 | 35 | 21 | 63 | 132 | 363 | 478 | 1268 | 34 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Scotland - North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 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.
Nearest