Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 3 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Saturday 4 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 10s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 3 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 8ft (2.4m), 10s period, W swell with 1,208 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 4 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 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 Saturday (Jul 04) at 4AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.1m 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 2.4m 10s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 03) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 2s period and expected on Monday (Jul 06) at 4PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4AM (Sat 4th Jul) | 7ft (2.1m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 4AM (Sat 4th Jul) | 7ft (2.1m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Fri 3rd Jul) | 8ft (2.4m) 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 talk about this next couple of weeks.
Right off the bat, The Cove is looking a bit hit and miss, but there are a couple of golden windows that'll get the blood pumping. Don't get too excited about the early stuff, it's a bit of a slow burner.
The first real standout looks to be Saturday, July 4th, in the morning. The Cove is an exposed reef break and we’ve got a clean 6 ft swell rolling in from the West, with a decent 10-second period. The wind is a glassy 3 mph from the south, offshore, so those waves are going to be peeling nicely. The combined energy is moderate at 561, and with the offshore breeze, the water's gonna be looking like a mirror. This spot is a fairly consistent reef, so it should be working. For an intermediate surfer, this is the session to pencil in.
After that, the surf gets messy. Sunday and Monday drop right off, with weak lumps and cross-shore winds. Tuesday and Wednesday are pretty ordinary, with junky, short-period windswell and strong side winds that'll chop things up.
Things start looking up again around the end of the first week. Friday, July 10th, in the morning is a real sleeper. Now, the swell is only 3 ft from the west, but the period is a solid 9 seconds. But the key here is the wind – dead calm. We’re talking 0 mph, glassy conditions. For an exposed reef break, this is about as clean as it gets. The combined energy is a moderate 217, so there's enough push, but it’ll be small and perfect. A great option for a longer board or a relaxed session.
The next real highlight doesn’t come until Tuesday, July 14th, in the morning. This time the swell is 4 ft from the west, with a very long 11-second period – so there’ll be some proper groundswell lines. Again, the wind is dead calm (0 mph). That glassy surface is going to make that reef look like it’s a different break. Moderate energy at 355, the sets will be fat and powerful. This is a classic "get up early" morning. The second week is more uncertain, but this one looks promising right now.
The water temp at The Cove is sitting at 54°, which is pretty average for this time of year, no major surprises there. And just so you know, the wind gets a bit strong during the week, but for those two mornings – the 4th and the 14th – the combo of clean swell and no wind is just about perfect.
Stay stoked, and see you out there.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 16°C on Fri morning, min 11°C on Sat night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the WSW on Fri morning, light winds from the S by Sat morning). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Tue night. Very mild (max 17°C on Wed afternoon, min 10°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 3 | Saturday 4 | Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | |||||||||||||||
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 9 | W 9 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | N 8 | N 9 | N 8 | W 6 | W 6 | W 9 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 575 | 854 | 1020 | 561 | 589 | 383 | 287 | 193 | 116 | 112 | 89 | 86 | 84 | 133 | 115 | 198 | 164 | 230 | 179 | 230 | 183 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | on | on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross |
High Tide | 11:39AM4.37m | 11:39PM4.72m | 12:16PM4.34m | 00:15AM4.66m | 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 | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:32PM1.88m | 6:03AM1.56m | 6:08PM1.95m | 6:41AM1.62m | 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 | ||||||||
 |  |  |  |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | |  | |
 | 4:11 | — | — | 4:13 | — | — | 4:13 | — | — | 4:15 | — | — | 4:16 | — | — | 4:18 | — | — | 4:18 | — | — |
 | — | — | 10:23 | — | — | 10:22 | — | — | 10:22 | — | — | 10:21 | — | — | 10:20 | — | — | 10:19 | — | — | 10:17 |
mm | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | — | 1 | 3 | — | — | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 19 |
Feels °C | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 19 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 6 | N 6 | W 10 | W 10 | — | WNW 9 | — | WNW 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | N 8 | N 9 | N 8 | N 9 | N 8 | N 8 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 |
| kJ | 11 | 2 | 1020 | 561 | — | 383 | — | 193 | 116 | 112 | 89 | 86 | 84 | 133 | 115 | 148 | 86 | 40 | 179 | 230 | 183 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 5 | N 6 | NNW 9 | N 8 | W 8 | W 9 | — | — | — | — | N 7 | N 6 | N 6 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 6 | 26 | 69 | 68 | 95 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 7 | 3 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 10 | N 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 10 | NNE 10 | NNE 8 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 9 | 7 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 9 | W 9 | — | — | W 10 | — | WNW 9 | — | — | — | ESE 2 | — | W 4 | — | W 5 | W 6 | W 6 | W 9 | — | — | SE 2 |
| kJ | 575 | 854 | — | — | 589 | — | 287 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 19 | — | 104 | 198 | 164 | 230 | — | — | 1 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 34 | 345 | 7 | 0 | 1106 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 59 | 16 | 9 | 16 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 63 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 9 |
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