Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 10 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 11 Sep, 10PM (local time) - 7.5ft (2.3m), 10s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 12 Sep, 10AM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 13s period, W swell with 4,965 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 10 Sep, 7PM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 9s 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 Thursday (Sep 10) at 7PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be 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 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.9m 6s period and expected on Friday (Sep 11) at 4AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7PM (Thu 10th Sep) | 3ft (0.9m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 10PM (Fri 11th Sep) | 7.5ft (2.3m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 10AM (Sat 12th Sep) | 13ft (4.0m) 13s |
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 what's on the table for The Cove.
Right off the bat, the first few days are a bit of a write-off, so don’t bother paddling out just yet. We’ve got a solid gap of nothing good until Sunday the 13th.
That Sunday morning is where things finally turn around. The Cove is seeing a clean 6ft swell out of the WNW, and with the wind swinging light offshore from the WSW, it’s going to be looking real good. The water temp is sitting at 57°, which is about normal for this time of year, so nothing shocking there. The swell energy is moderate at 970, and the period is a nice 11 seconds – that’s real groundswell energy, perfect for this reef setup. Sunday afternoon gets even better with glassy conditions and a 6ft swell. That’s the standout of the first week.
After that, things get messy again for a few days with strong winds and lumpy conditions, so we’re looking at another gap until the following weekend.
Now, if you’re an experienced surfer and you want to plan ahead, keep your eye on Thursday the 24th. It’s a long way out, so don’t hold me to it, but the potential is massive. Thursday morning is looking glassy with a 6ft WNW swell and a combined energy of 1251 – that’s moderate but clean. But the real standout is Thursday afternoon: a 15ft swell from the west, period dropping to 9 seconds, with clean conditions. That is serious size for The Cove, and at that height, it’s strictly for experts only. The energy is strong at 3588, so there’s plenty of push. If the wind holds, that could be a session to remember.
To be honest, The Cove is a reef break that doesn’t fire all the time, and when it gets this big it can be a handful. For the first week, Sunday the 13th is your best bet. For the second week, keep an eye on that Thursday the 24th – it’s promising but less certain.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Fri night. Very mild (max 15°C on Thu morning, min 11°C on Thu night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WSW on Sat morning, light winds from the WNW by Sat night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Tue morning. Very mild (max 17°C on Mon morning, min 10°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (calm on Sun afternoon, fresh winds from the SW by Mon morning). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | |||||||||||||||
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 7 | W 8 | W 10 | W 7 | W 9 | W 11 | W 13 | WNW 12 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | NNW 12 | NNW 12 | W 9 | W 10 | W 11 | WNW 7 | NNW 7 | W 11 | W 10 | W 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 68 | 92 | 541 | 590 | 874 | 1007 | 4965 | 3091 | 1619 | 823 | 607 | 519 | 361 | 299 | 296 | 224 | 880 | 395 | 465 | 461 | 171 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | glassy | off | cross-off | off | off | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 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 | 11:47AM4.64m | 11:58PM4.71m | 12:19PM4.44m | 00:35AM4.38m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 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 | 5:39AM1.36m | 5:50PM1.64m | 6:12AM1.69m | 6:27PM1.89m | ||||||||
 | |  |  |  |  | | |  | | | | |  |  | |  | | | | | |
 | 6:31 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — |
 | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:46 | — | — | 7:44 | — | — | 7:40 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:36 | — | — | 7:32 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
Feels °C | 10 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 7 | W 8 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | N 10 | W 11 | N 9 | SE 7 | WNW 12 | WNW 11 | WNW 10 | NNW 12 | NNW 12 | W 9 | W 10 | W 11 | NNW 10 | W 10 | W 11 | W 10 | W 9 |
| kJ | 68 | 92 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1007 | 6 | 7 | 1619 | 823 | 607 | 519 | 361 | 299 | 296 | 224 | 33 | 192 | 465 | 461 | 171 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 7 | N 7 | N 7 | — | N 10 | WNW 14 | N 9 | — | — | NNW 14 | NNW 13 | WNW 10 | WNW 9 | W 12 | N 11 | N 11 | SE 6 | — | NNW 11 | NNW 6 | NNW 10 |
| kJ | 38 | 16 | 4 | — | 2 | 443 | 2 | — | — | 147 | 350 | 282 | 106 | 276 | 121 | 58 | 1 | — | 11 | 64 | 157 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 12 | W 12 | — | — | — | N 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 14 | NNW 12 | — | N 9 | — | — | — | NNW 10 | E 7 |
| kJ | 3 | 3 | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 236 | — | 2 | — | — | — | 78 | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 3 | SE 4 | W 10 | W 7 | W 9 | S 3 | W 13 | WNW 12 | — | — | — | — | SSE 3 | — | ESE 6 | S 3 | WNW 7 | NNW 7 | NNW 6 | — | W 5 |
| kJ | 6 | 10 | 541 | 590 | 874 | 2 | 4965 | 3091 | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | 4 | 4 | 880 | 395 | 165 | — | 53 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 9 | 171 | 577 | 412 | 0 | 421 | 287 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1085 | 87 | 63 | 35 | 7 |
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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