'Strange' water surges on Anglesey beaches blamed on rare 'meteotsunami'
People trying to cool off in the heatwave suddenly found the sea repeatedly surging onto beaches, then disppearing again
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Bizarre' water surges on Anglesey beaches could have been rare 'meteotsunami'
People trying to cool off in the heatwave suddenly found the sea repeatedly surging onto beaches, then disappearing again
July 20, 2022
By
Andrew Forgrave. Countryside and tourism editor
Stunned beachgoers were suddenly swamped by in-rushing water and swimmers were swept out to sea in a “bizarre” series of coastal events on Anglesey. It’s been speculated the island’s north coast may have been hit by a rare “meteotsunami”.
Commercial fishermen who experienced the event said they had “never seen anything like it”. The incident was widely reported along the island’s northern coast, from Rhoscolyn to Amlwch, during late morning yesterday.
Witnesses describe rapid water surges up beaches, followed by equally rapid retreats. These were said to have been repeated multiple times over a period of about 45 minutes, leaving people “spooked” by what they saw.
In Trearddur Bay, one swimmer found himself in trouble. “I got swept out to the yellow swim zone buoys. I’ve been swimming here for a year and no incident. I didn’t notice the pull until it was too late.”
Retrired management consultant Gerallt Hughes, 59, from Valley, was walking his dog on Trearddur beach when he found himself surrounded by surging water. “I was throwing a ball for my dog and climbed onto rocks to retrieve it,” he said.
“Suddenly the sea started to flood in. Within a minute it was up to thigh deep where I had been standing moments before.”
Gerallt's wife Lynda ran to retrieve items left on the beach - but others weren’t so lucky. “Some people’s stuff was soaked as water raced up the beach,” he said.
“About a minute later the water began to recede quickly again, about 30ft back out to sea, and the beach was left bone dry. It was like someone had pulled a plug from a bath.
“The whole process repeated again five or 10 minutes later. We watched it continue like this another four or five times and it was still happening when we left the beach.
“It was absolutely bizarre, very, very strange. I’d never seen anything like it before.
“I’d always imagined this beach to be very safe. But when you see something like this, it makes you realise the sea always poses a risk.”
When Gerallt posted about the incident on Facebook, it prompted similar reports. A fisherman at sea in a small boat was said to have struggled to return to shore.
Another commercial fisherman from Holyhead also experienced the phenomenon. “In all these years I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.
In recent days Anglesey has been experiencing strong off-shore winds and the current spring tide will produce the highest tides of the month. But high tide in Trearddur Bay was not until 3.07pm yesterday, some three hours after the events witnessed by beachgoers.
It’s fuelled speculation the island was hit by a meteotsunami. The phenomenon is caused by sudden air-pressure drops on oceans that are linked to fast-moving storm fronts, causing a surge.
A meteotsunami was provisionally blamed for a “wrong way” tidal event in Pembrokeshire last month, when water repeatedly surged in and out of Solva Harbour, causing boats to rock “quite dramatically” (see video above). Similarly strange activity had been reported in West Cork, Ireland, a few days earlier.
Some experts attributed what happen in Ireland to “seiching”, perhaps caused by a meteotsunami. Seiching is the oscillation of water back and forth in a contained area, like a bay, following a surge – a bit like water sloshing back and forth in a bath.
Holyhead Coastguard has received no reports of strange tidal events from Anglesey’s coast and cannot speculate on what may have happened. Other theories advanced online include infragravity waves.
