Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 8 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 13 Sep, 7PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 10s period, WNW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 12 Sep, 4AM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 13s period, WNW swell with 5,436 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 9 Sep, 7PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 8s 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 (Sep 09) at 7PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 7s. Another secondary swell of 0.9m and 7s is also forecast. 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 4.0m 13s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Sep 12) at 4AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 5s period and expected on Tuesday (Sep 08) at 10AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7PM (Wed 9th Sep) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 7PM (Sun 13th Sep) | 5ft (1.6m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 4AM (Sat 12th Sep) | 13ft (4.0m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let's talk The Cove. Rusty here, and I've been digging through the numbers.
This reef break is your only option, and it's exposed to the northwest swell. The next 16 days have a bit of everything, but the first week is a real grind. Tuesday the 8th kicks off with a solid 10ft of west swell, but the wind is all over the place – 19 mph cross-off in the morning then a nasty 25 mph onshore in the afternoon. The wave energy is huge (2432), but it's a mess. Wednesday and Thursday calm down with cleaner offshore breezes, but the swell drops to under 4ft with a short period under 9 seconds. It's rideable, but barely worth the paddle.
We get some serious size towards the end of the first week. Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th have swell from 7ft to a massive 13ft, with a west-northwest groundswell hitting a 13-second period on Saturday. The energy readings are enormous (4849 Saturday morning), but the wind is all cross-off or cross. The reports call it "marginal" or "poor." At that size, with the wind and chop, it's a beast only for the experts.
The real standout, the one that has me buzzing, is a week and a half out. Monday the 21st of September. It's an exceptional forecast for experts. The morning session shows a 12ft swell from the WNW, with a very long period of 16 seconds. The combined energy is a massive 6912 – that's proper strong. And the wind? A clean, gentle offshore from the SSW at just 9 mph. That's a recipe for the best, most powerful waves The Cove can offer. The afternoon holds up too, with a lighter breeze and a 15-second period, still at 12ft. That's the one. It's a long way off, so there's always a chance it shifts, but right now, that's the session.
Before that, the weekend of the 20th of September has moderate offshore winds and a solid 6ft swell from the west with an 11-second period. The energy is moderate (680-745), and the conditions are "very good." That's a solid, fun day for the intermediate surfer.
So, a slow start, but the long-range promise is huge. The water temp is about average for this time of year, no surprises. Circle the 21st.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Mon night. Very mild (max 15°C on Thu afternoon, min 10°C on Tue night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Mon night, light winds from the S by Wed night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Sat morning. Very mild (max 15°C on Sat morning, min 11°C on Thu night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the WSW on Fri morning, light winds from the ESE by Sun afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | |||||||||||||||
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 11 | WNW 11 | NW 10 | NNW 8 | W 9 | N 7 | W 7 | W 9 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | NNW 11 | W 9 | W 11 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 2432 | 1873 | 1185 | 292 | 189 | 45 | 88 | 214 | 468 | 755 | 1183 | 5302 | 4841 | 3570 | 1824 | 1411 | 792 | 301 | 164 | 245 | 798 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | off | cross-off | off | cross-off |
High Tide | 7:23AM4.42m | 7:29PM4.65m | 8:16AM4.69m | 8:17PM4.95m | 9:00AM4.89m | 9:00PM5.19m | 9:38AM5.00m | 9:38PM5.31m | 10:12AM5.01m | 10:14PM5.32m | 10:45AM4.94m | 10:49PM5.21m | 11:16AM4.81m | 11:23PM5.00m | |||||||
Low Tide | 1:20PM1.99m | 1:50AM1.36m | 2:08PM1.71m | 2:35AM1.05m | 2:50PM1.49m | 3:16AM0.87m | 3:29PM1.34m | 3:55AM0.82m | 4:05PM1.28m | 4:31AM0.90m | 4:40PM1.32m | 5:06AM1.09m | 5:15PM1.44m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | |  |  |  | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:26 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — |
 | — | 7:55 | — | — | 7:52 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:46 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:38 | — |
mm | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 3 |
Temp °C | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 |
Feels °C | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 14 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 11 | WNW 11 | — | NNW 8 | NNW 7 | W 6 | W 7 | W 9 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | N 11 | WNW 14 | WNW 13 | WNW 13 | WNW 12 | NNW 14 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | W 9 | W 11 |
| kJ | 2432 | 1873 | — | 292 | 114 | 41 | 88 | 214 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 5302 | 4841 | 3570 | 1824 | 145 | 792 | 301 | 135 | 245 | 798 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | W 10 | — | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | N 11 | W 18 | NNW 10 | N 10 | N 9 | NNW 13 | — | NNW 12 | NNW 12 | NNW 11 | NNW 11 | N 11 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 220 | — | 44 | 26 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 59 | — | 220 | 254 | 164 | 158 | 85 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | W 8 | W 12 | — | — | N 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | WNW 14 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | 3 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 5 | — | NW 10 | — | W 9 | — | S 4 | SSE 4 | W 10 | W 10 | W 10 | — | — | — | — | WNW 11 | — | — | SSE 2 | — | SSE 3 |
| kJ | 33 | — | 1185 | — | 189 | — | 12 | 8 | 468 | 755 | 1183 | — | — | — | — | 1411 | — | — | 1 | — | 2 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 776 | 739 | 593 | 278 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 752 | 774 | 345 | 813 | 7 | 203 | 63 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 |
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