June 26, 2013 — Researchers are examining a possible meteotsunami that may have hit the coast of New Jersey June 13. The Tsunami Warning Center relayed an account of the events as seen by Brian Cohen, who was out spear fishing in the Barnegat Inlet in Ocean County when he saw waves that were approximately 6 feet peak-to-trough spanning across the inlet.
"Earlier in the day around noon, thunderstorms had moved through the area. By 3:30 p.m. [EDT] the weather was overcast with a light east wind. At approximately 3:30 [p.m. EDT], the outgoing tide was amplified by strong currents which carried divers over the submerged breakwater (normally 3-4 feet deep). This strong outrush continued for 1-2 minutes and eventually the rocks in the submerged breakwater were exposed. Brian backed his boat out before being sucked over as well."
The low-end derecho that pushed from Chicago to Washington, D.C., on June 13 may have sparked the possible meteotsunami on the New Jersey coast, said Paul Whitmore, Director of the Tsunami Warning Center.
"The first impulse was to see this as meteorologically driven, but once a system gets over the [continental] shelf, we lose data," he said. "It makes it hard to confirm."
It could take months before the event is officially confirmed one way or the other, but it seems likely at this time that the derecho may have caused the tsunami-like waves.
Read the full story at the Huffington Post