Have you heard of the Severn Bore? It's a mini tidal wave that runs up the River Severn periodically.?

Question

If there is one due to happen around now, would there be a tsunami with all the current floods?

Perhaps an environmental expert can answer my question.

Answer 1

Severn Bore is mainly influenced by the moon and is greatest at Spring and Autumn. Summer does not have good bores.

If the river is full like it is right now, the height of the bore is diminished by the extra weight.

It's not as dramatic as it sounds, if you stand too close to the river edge when it goes past you might get your shoes wet.

Answer 2

There are bores on many rivers, the Amazon has a huge one. They are caused by the rising tide being funneled by the shape of the estuary into the river. This produces a wave that runs up the river for a considerable distance. The higher the tide, the larger the wave. There are two tides a day so two bores a day although small ones are hardly noticeable.

They have nothing whatsoever to do with tsunamis which are produced by undersea earthquakes.

Answer 3

I know the Severn Bore well, having surfed some 7-9km along the Severn thanks to the aforementioned wave.

While there would not be a tsunami as such - tsunami's are generally caused by geophysical phenomena such as tectonic plate movement - it would be possible for a rarer phenomenon known as a Checkov's Curtailment to occur.

Such a curtailment would certainly cause widespread and lasting damage to Weston-Super-Mare, which would be a great shame.

Hope this is of some help.

Answer 4

yes and I don't know if one is due