Tsunamis in 1846

August 1, 1846 Tsunami: Penzance, England, United Kingdom

August 1, 1846 · Questionable tsunami

A tsunami of meteorological origin began at Penzance, England, United Kingdom on August 1, 1846.

Where the waves reached

The source of the tsunami. No runup with a place is recorded for it.

  • Under 1 m
  • 1 to 3 m
  • 3 to 10 m
  • 10 to 30 m
  • 30 m and more
  • Height not recorded

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date
August 1, 1846
Source
Penzance, England, United Kingdom
Cause
Meteorological
Runups recorded
0
Waters
Ocean
How certain
Questionable tsunami

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Penzance 1846. On the 1 August 1846 Edmonds (1862) writes …the sea in Penzance pier at 0400h being very calm … suddenly rose between 1 and 2 ft.. John Bull (1864) mentions “most destructive storms that has occurred within the memory of man” with the origin of these storms being from the southwest of London. These storms may have caused the meteotsunami that hit Penzance. (reference #14269)

More

Every tsunami in 1846The 1800sTsunamis of United KingdomThis day in weather historyAlerts in force

Sources

Tsunami events and runups from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI tsunami event 6100.