Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 11 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 12 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 9s period, WNW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 11 Jul, 7AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period, W swell with 326 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 12 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 9s 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 Sunday (Jul 12) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.1m and 7s. 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 1.3m 10s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Jul 11) at 7AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 3s period and expected on Tuesday (Jul 14) at 4PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Sun 12th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Sun 12th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 7AM (Sat 11th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days.
Alright crew, Rusty here, checking in on The Cove. Gonna level with you – the next week and a half looks flat, but there's one real gem of a session if you hold out for it.
For the first stretch, the wave energy is tiny. Weak readings under 100 and little waves under 2ft. The pattern is quiet, then a little pulse mid-week, then dead again from the 15th through the 19th. This spot is inconsistent, and this kind of dead spell is pretty normal around here.
Hold on till Monday July the 20th. That morning, the swell jumps to about 7ft from the WNW with strong energy (424), but the SE wind at 15 mph messes it up. The afternoon, though – that’s the one. The wind drops to a light 6 mph from the SSE, turning cross-offshore and glassy. The swell holds steady at 7ft from the WNW, and the energy reading spikes to a very high 584. That’s the best session in the whole 16-day window. The Cove is a reef that loves that WNW/NW groundswell, and with that long period and clean wind, the waves will be well-shaped and powerful. Water temp is about average for the season.
Tuesday the 21st stays strong with a 8ft swell and even higher energy (834), but the wind is cross-shore, so it won’t be as clean. Wednesday the 22nd brings a 10ft swell with monster energy (1856), but that’s only for experts and conditions are messy. The rest of the week after that is choppy and onshore.
Bottom line: if you’re free Monday afternoon July 20th, get to The Cove. Crowds might be heavy, but the waves will be worth it. Be patient.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Very mild (max 16°C on Mon afternoon, min 10°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Thu morning, min 12°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | |||||||||||||||
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 10 | W 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | W 8 | W 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | W 12 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | NW 4 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 267 | 203 | 129 | 68 | 43 | 28 | 51 | 45 | 65 | 104 | 247 | 127 | 65 | 41 | 25 | 12 | 23 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 14 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | on | on | on |
High Tide | 5:57AM4.37m | 6:43PM4.48m | 7:09AM4.50m | 7:42PM4.70m | 8:15AM4.66m | 8:36PM4.92m | 9:14AM4.82m | 9:27PM5.10m | 10:07AM4.91m | 10:14PM5.21m | 10:57AM4.92m | 10:59PM5.25m | 11:45AM4.85m | 11:44PM5.19m | |||||||
Low Tide | 12:33PM1.81m | 1:08AM1.85m | 1:33PM1.67m | 2:06AM1.53m | 2:27PM1.53m | 2:58AM1.22m | 3:16PM1.44m | 3:47AM0.99m | 4:03PM1.40m | 4:34AM0.87m | 4:47PM1.44m | 5:20AM0.88m | 5:31PM1.54m | ||||||||
 | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |  |  | | | |
 | 4:22 | — | — | 4:24 | — | — | 4:24 | — | — | 4:26 | — | — | 4:28 | — | — | 4:31 | — | — | 4:31 | — | — |
 | — | — | 10:15 | — | — | 10:14 | — | — | 10:13 | — | — | 10:12 | — | — | 10:09 | — | — | 10:08 | — | — | 10:07 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Temp °C | 12 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
Feels °C | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 21 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 10 | W 9 | WNW 9 | WNW 8 | W 8 | W 7 | WNW 8 | WNW 8 | WNW 9 | WNW 10 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 |
| kJ | 267 | 203 | 129 | 68 | 43 | 28 | 51 | 45 | 65 | 94 | 247 | 127 | 65 | 41 | 25 | 12 | 23 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 8 | NE 8 | NE 7 | E 7 | NNW 6 | NW 6 | E 6 | E 7 | W 14 | W 12 | — | W 18 | W 18 | — | — | W 10 | N 10 | N 9 | N 8 | N 8 | N 8 |
| kJ | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 104 | — | 6 | 6 | — | — | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | N 7 | E 7 | W 21 | W 15 | E 7 | E 5 | — | — | W 18 | — | — | N 10 | — | — | E 6 | E 6 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 6 | — | — | 2 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | NE 7 | E 2 | — | — | E 2 | ESE 2 | — | ESE 3 | SE 3 | ESE 3 | ESE 3 | ESE 3 | ESE 3 | — | — | NW 3 | NW 3 | NW 4 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 4 | 14 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 141 | 0 | 176 | 0 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 170 | 59 | 369 | 289 | 524 | 370 | 806 | 847 |
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