Surf Forecasts:
The Cove surf forecast from 27 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 28 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period, W swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Monday 27 Jul, 1PM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 10s period, W swell with 656 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 28 Jul, 1AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 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 Tuesday (Jul 28) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.3m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 1.3m and 9s. 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 1.8m 10s and forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 27) at 1PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.4m 5s period and expected on Saturday (Aug 01) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 1AM (Tue 28th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 1AM (Tue 28th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 1PM (Mon 27th Jul) | 6ft (1.8m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Cove over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Let’s get into it.
Right now, it’s looking pretty quiet at The Cove. Sunday afternoon’s a write-off – 35 km/h cross-onshore from the WNW and poor conditions. Not much to say.
Monday morning, July 27, is the early bright spot. Cross-off west wind, clean water, 6ft swell from the NNW, period 9 seconds. The combined energy reading is 999 – a solid pulse. Even though the guidance says “marginal,” the water looks way better. That’s the session you’d aim for early.
Tuesday the 28th through that week stays scruffy, but Wednesday morning, July 29, deserves a look. Light offshore from the SSW—clean, glassy, with a small but tidy 3ft north swell, period 9 seconds, combined energy at 268. It’s small, but offshore wind on The Cove makes up for a lot.
Then we hit the doldrums. The surf turns poor from late July into the first week of August. Combined energy readings dip into double digits as low as 28, and the wind just can’t sort itself out. That run of no-good surf lasts something like eight or nine days.
Finally, Sunday, August 2, wakes us up. Morning brings a solid 8ft NW swell with 9 seconds and the energy jumps to 1782 – that’s strong stuff. Light west wind, not too choppy. This is the standout of the whole stretch. It’s a bit large for beginners, but for anyone comfortable on a reef, this is the one to circle. The afternoon sees a 7ft north swell, a nice 10-second period, and almost glassy conditions with a light onshore from the NNW.
Then, it fades again. August 3 through the end of the outlook stays pretty sleepy, with combined energy sliding back under 500 and cross-onshore winds taking hold. By August 10, we’re down to 3ft, cross-onshore, and nothing to shout about.
Water temp is 55°F, right about normal for the season – nothing unusual there.
Overall: Monday morning July 27 is your first solid shot, but Sunday August 2 is the big one. Bigger swell, good energy, and clean enough conditions to make the reef work. That’s where you want to be.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 7mm), mostly falling on Tue morning. Very mild (max 17°C on Tue afternoon, min 11°C on Sun night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Thu morning. Very mild (max 14°C on Sat afternoon, min 11°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (light winds from the WNW on Wed night, strong winds from the W by Sat afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | |||||||||||||||
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) | NW 9 | W 10 | W 10 | N 9 | N 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | N 8 | N 8 | N 8 | NW 6 | NNW 7 | N 6 | W 5 | W 6 | WNW 7 | W 7 | WNW 6 | N 8 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 626 | 586 | 326 | 235 | 300 | 251 | 187 | 217 | 98 | 134 | 105 | 82 | 79 | 110 | 29 | 76 | 71 | 74 | 56 | 49 | 104 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | on | on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross | cross | cross-on | on | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:24AM4.15m | 8:32PM4.50m | 9:05AM4.29m | 9:09PM4.66m | 9:40AM4.43m | 9:42PM4.80m | 10:12AM4.53m | 10:14PM4.89m | 10:43AM4.59m | 10:44PM4.94m | 11:14AM4.61m | 11:15PM4.95m | 11:46AM4.59m | 11:48PM4.91m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:18PM2.06m | 2:49AM1.76m | 2:55PM1.92m | 3:24AM1.58m | 3:30PM1.78m | 3:58AM1.44m | 4:04PM1.69m | 4:30AM1.35m | 4:37PM1.63m | 5:03AM1.31m | 5:10PM1.63m | 5:36AM1.32m | 5:43PM1.68m | ||||||||
 | |  |  | | |  | |  | | |  | | | |  | |  | | | | |
 | 4:52 | — | — | 4:54 | — | — | 4:56 | — | — | 4:58 | — | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:01 | — | — | 5:03 | — | — |
 | — | — | 9:47 | — | — | 9:45 | — | — | 9:44 | — | — | 9:42 | — | — | 9:38 | — | — | 9:37 | — | — | 9:35 |
mm | — | — | 1 | 5 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 |
Feels °C | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 9 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NW 9 | NNW 9 | NNW 9 | N 9 | N 9 | W 9 | W 8 | N 9 | W 8 | N 8 | N 8 | N 8 | N 7 | — | N 6 | N 6 | W 6 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | N 7 | N 8 |
| kJ | 626 | 295 | 289 | 235 | 300 | 251 | 187 | 97 | 98 | 134 | 105 | 82 | 70 | — | 29 | 20 | 71 | 23 | 19 | 26 | 104 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 10 | — | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | N 9 | N 9 | NW 11 | N 8 | W 8 | NW 10 | NW 7 | W 7 | — | E 6 | W 11 | N 6 | NNW 7 | NNW 5 | W 9 | NW 7 |
| kJ | 402 | — | 326 | 176 | 133 | 162 | 126 | 5 | 84 | 28 | 79 | 14 | 4 | — | 1 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 8 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | W 9 | — | — | NNW 7 | NW 6 | W 8 | — | — | — | — | N 9 | NNW 8 | W 11 | W 9 | NW 9 | W 8 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | 42 | — | — | 32 | 8 | 18 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 5 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | W 10 | — | SSE 3 | SW 3 | — | — | W 8 | — | ENE 3 | — | WNW 4 | NW 6 | NNW 7 | W 5 | W 5 | — | WNW 7 | W 7 | WNW 6 | WNW 6 |
| kJ | — | 586 | — | 3 | 2 | — | — | 217 | — | 4 | — | 30 | 79 | 110 | 80 | 76 | — | 74 | 56 | 49 | 24 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 34 | 148 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 7 | 447 | 63 | 46 | 484 | 491 | 1497 | 288 | 63 | 65 | 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