Hurricanes vs typhoons vs cyclones: What is the difference?
There is one factor that determines if it is a hurricane, a typhoon or a cyclone -- and it's not the wind speed.
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Tropical cyclones are some of the most powerful storms on Earth capable of shredding apart buildings, flooding the coast with a tsunamilike storm surge and causing a significant risk to lives and property. But how similar is a cyclone to a typhoon or a hurricane?
The three are virtually identical, but the biggest difference boils down to one factor: geography.
Difference between hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones
Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones all look and act the same, with maximum winds of at least 74 mph (64 knots). The key difference is what part of the world they are located:
•Hurricanes: North Atlantic, eastern North Pacific Ocean, central North Pacific Ocean, and on rare occasions, the south Atlantic Ocean
•Typhoons: Western Pacific Ocean
•Cyclones: western South Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean
Each region of the world uses a different set of names to identify systems that spin up, with the names being determined years in advance.
Wind speed difference
Apart from geography, there is one other factor that can differentiate hurricanes from typhoons and cyclones.
When measuring winds, the standard by the World Meteorological Organization is to rate the strength of a storm by using the average sustained winds over a 10-minute period.
However, the National Hurricane Center uses a 1-minute average when measuring winds. This can lead to small differences when comparing the strength of a hurricane to a typhoon or cyclone.
Typhoon Hinnamnor's eye on visible satellite as it spun over the western Pacific Ocean in 2022.
The three types of tropical systems also spin differently depending on which side of the equator they are located. Storms in the Northern Hemisphere spin counterclockwise, while those that occur in the Southern Hemisphere spin clockwise.
The direction of spin is connected to the rotation of the Earth, creating a phenomenon known as the Coriolis effect. This also impacts other types of non-tropical storms, such as bomb cyclones.
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