Coastal warning display tower
Encyclopedia
A coastal warning display tower, sometimes known as a storm warning tower, was a special kind of skeletal tower
designed to provide hurricane warnings. The towers were developed in 1898 on the orders of President William McKinley
.
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The system of towers is obsolete today, and few survive.
Skeletal tower
Skeletal Frame Light Towers are lighthouse towers that have only an open frame. They are commonly built as aids to navigation; most of them are not considered to be lighthouses. However, during the late nineteenth century and the first years of the twentieth, larger skeletal towers were installed...
designed to provide hurricane warnings. The towers were developed in 1898 on the orders of President William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
.
A single red pennant
Pennon
A pennon was one of the principal three varieties of flags carried during the Middle Ages . Pennoncells and streamers or pendants are considered as minor varieties of this style of flag. The pennon is a flag resembling the guidon in shape, but only half the size...
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The system of towers is obsolete today, and few survive.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
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