Coastal warning display tower
A coastal warning display tower, sometimes known as a storm warning tower, was a type of signal station in the form of skeletal towers designed to provide hurricane warnings. The towers were developed in 1898 on the orders of President William McKinley.
Warning pennant
Warning flag
A single red pennant was shown from the top of the tower as a small craft warning; for a gale warning, two such pennants were used. Two square flags, red with a black square at center, signified an approaching hurricane. Three lights, two red and one white, carried the signal at night. Red over white signified a gale, while two reds constituted a storm warning. All three lights together warned of a hurricane.
The system of towers is obsolete today, and few survive.
Remaining towers
- Manteo, North Carolina, operated by the North Carolina Maritime Museum
- Portsmouth, New Hampshire
- Providence, Rhode Island
- New Haven, Connecticut
- Southport, North Carolina
- Hammond, Oregon
- Oswego, New York, at Fort Ontario State Historic Site
- Washington, North Carolina, operated by the City of Washington
See also
External links
- Rowlett, Russ. "Coastal Warning Display Towers". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- National Weather Service entry
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