LIGHTSHIPS ALONG THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES 



A major storm track (along which there has been a maximum concentra- 

 tion of individual storm paths) prevails along the east coast of the United 

 States during the late autumn, winter, and early spring. The winds of the 

 individual storms largely determine wave conditions. Hence, maximum fre- 

 quencies of waves55 feet occur approximately along the axis of the major 

 storm track from the Carolinas to Newfovmdland. However, because migratory 

 storms generally move through this region at moderate rates of speed, the 

 persistence graphs in Figures 3 through 5 show that durations of unfavorable 

 waves are shorter than those of favorable waves. In addition, the influence 

 of prevailing westerly component winds (offshore winds) on unfavorable wave 

 generation is minimized by the sheltering effect of the continent j i.e., 

 the fetch distances are short between the shoreline and the lightships. 



An exception occurs at Frying-pan Shoals Lightship, where unfavorable 

 waves persist through spells in excess of 300 hours. This is due mainly 

 to the location of this lightship in a region of storm generation, where 

 the lightship is subjected to lengthy periods of adverse waves before the 

 newly generated storm moves out of the region. 



