Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 15 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 15 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 10s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 16 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 12s period, WNW swell with 246 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 15 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 10s 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 Wednesday (Jul 15) at 4AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.7m and 10s 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 0.9m 12s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 16) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 3s period and expected on Wednesday (Jul 15) at 7PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4AM (Wed 15th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 4AM (Wed 15th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Thu 16th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 12s |
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 the next couple of weeks at The Cove. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, so don’t go getting your hopes up too early.
Right now, the overall pattern is pretty flat and quiet. There’s nothing worth paddling out for in the first week. We’ve got a few days of small, weak swell but the wind just isn’t playing ball. The swell energy is weak (combined energy values of 70 to 242) and the conditions are mostly cross-off or cross-on, which kills the quality at this reef setup. Expect a gap of about 10 days with no real recommendations.
The first real standout comes on Friday, July 24th into Saturday, July 25th. This is where things get interesting. The Cove starts seeing a solid west swell pushing up to 5 ft to 6 ft with a moderate period of 10 to 12 seconds. The swell direction is west, which is right in the optimum zone for this spot. The wind holds cross-off from the ESE, keeping the surface clean. The combined energy ramps up to moderate and then strong values (633 on Friday morning, 625 on Saturday morning). This is the best the forecast has to offer. The Cove is a reef break, so it’s best for intermediate surfers; at that size it’s a good challenge but not too big for most. The water temp is sitting around 55°F, which is about average for the time of year, so nothing unusual there.
Saturday morning is the pick of the bunch. That 6 ft west swell with clean cross-off winds and good energy (625) will be the best session over the whole 16 days. Keep in mind The Cove can get a crowd sometimes, so get in early.
The second week has a few other sessions that are surfable but nothing special. Tuesday, July 28th morning has a clean 3 ft west swell, but the energy is low and the wind is light. Then Wednesday, July 29th looks glassy in the afternoon with a weak 2 ft west swell, but it’s not going to get the heart pumping.
So, bottom line: the first week is a write-off. Don’t bother. The second half of the month, starting July 24th, is where you want to be in the water. Saturday morning, July 25th is the standout. Get on it.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Wed morning, min 12°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 14°C on Sun morning, min 10°C on Sat night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tue 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | |||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 11 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | NW 8 | NW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 242 | 127 | 64 | 39 | 25 | 27 | 24 | 214 | 128 | 113 | 202 | 155 | 167 | 102 | 59 | 65 | 58 | 80 | 91 | 88 | 83 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | glassy | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on |
High Tide | 9:27PM5.10m | 10:07AM4.91m | 10:14PM5.21m | 10:57AM4.92m | 10:59PM5.25m | 11:45AM4.85m | 11:44PM5.19m | 12:31PM4.70m | 00:29AM5.05m | 1:16PM4.50m | 1:14AM4.84m | 2:04PM4.29m | 2:03AM4.58m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 3:47AM0.99m | 4:03PM1.40m | 4:34AM0.87m | 4:47PM1.44m | 5:20AM0.88m | 5:31PM1.54m | 6:05AM1.00m | 6:14PM1.70m | 6:51AM1.22m | 6:58PM1.91m | 7:38AM1.51m | 7:46PM2.13m | 8:29AM1.81m | ||||||||
 |  | | | | |  |  | | |  |  | | | |  | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 4:28 | — | — | 4:31 | — | — | 4:31 | — | — | 4:33 | — | — | 4:35 | — | — | 4:37 | — | — | 4:39 |
 | — | 10:12 | — | — | 10:09 | — | — | 10:08 | — | — | 10:07 | — | — | 10:05 | — | — | 10:04 | — | — | 10:01 | 10:00 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 13 |
Feels °C | 11 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 11 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 9 | W 8 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | N 8 | NE 7 | ENE 9 | WNW 7 | N 6 | N 6 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | N 10 | N 9 |
| kJ | 242 | 127 | 64 | 39 | 25 | 27 | 23 | 214 | 128 | 113 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 102 | 38 | 19 | 58 | 80 | 48 | 49 | 59 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | E 7 | E 6 | E 6 | E 6 | W 12 | WNW 11 | N 9 | N 9 | N 8 | N 9 | E 9 | W 16 | ENE 8 | WNW 12 | W 11 | NNE 6 | NNE 8 | NNE 7 | W 10 | W 10 |
| kJ | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 31 | 65 | 4 | 20 | 18 | 47 | 45 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | W 18 | W 18 | — | — | E 5 | WNW 13 | — | — | — | E 6 | — | — | WNW 14 | W 9 | ENE 10 | N 6 | — | N 11 | N 7 | — |
| kJ | — | 6 | 6 | — | — | 1 | 18 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 20 | 7 | 10 | 2 | — | 2 | 15 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 3 | SE 3 | SE 2 | ESE 3 | SE 2 | — | — | — | NNW 4 | NNW 4 | WNW 9 | NW 8 | NW 6 | N 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 | WNW 7 |
| kJ | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 10 | 202 | 155 | 167 | 62 | 59 | 40 | 40 | 62 | 91 | 88 | 83 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 9 | 0 | 59 | 17 | 183 | 16 | 32 | 87 | 1354 | 63 | 265 | 424 | 87 | 63 | 32 | 167 | 63 | 63 | 21 | 65 |
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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