What is the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon, and a cyclone?
They are all the same! Formally, they are “severe tropical cyclones”. A hurricane is a tropical cyclone with wind speeds of 74 miles per hour (65 knots) or greater that occurs over the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or eastern Pacific Ocean off the west coast of Mexico. A typhoon is a hurricane that occurs over the western North Pacific Ocean or most of the South Pacific Ocean. A cyclone is a hurricane that occurs over the Indian Ocean. Other names for hurricanes are taino (Haiti), cordonazo (Mexico), baguio (Philippines), and, in former times, willy-willy (Australia; now it refers to a dust devil, a much smaller-scaled wind phenomenon). The violent storm, sometimes called a cyclone, that occurs over the central United States, such as the storm in the “Wizard of Oz”, is properly termed a tornado.
