What are the differences between cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons?

Factual Questions
1

Hi,

I was always told hurricanes struck in the US, cyclones in India and typhoons in south-east Asia, that they were all basically the same. I have my doubts now, but I can’t find any reliable information on their differences. Many websites say they’re basically the same. Are there differences in speeds or perhaps rotation? I look forward to your feedback.

davidmich

Unicorn Chaser: Two Cyclones off the Coast of Alaska

2

Those are just different names for the same type of storms.

3

Thanks Iggy.
davidmich

4

Not quite. A cyclone is any atmospheric condition with a low-pressure center and winds circulating around it due to the Coriolis effect (if you have a high-pressure system, the winds circulate the other way, and it’s an anticyclone). If a cyclone is big and strong enough, it’s a typhoon or a hurricane, but not all cyclones are.

5

Thank you Chronos. That clarifies thing better. Pity that so many websites skip those important details.
davidmich

6

a named cyclone is the same as a typhoon or a hurricane.

in popular use, old and lesser used, people have used cyclone to mean tornadic events too.

correct to say that low pressure circulation is cyclonic.

7

There are not really just “cyclones” but there are cyclonic depressions (low pressure systems) and “tropical cyclones”, aka cyclonic storms, Cyclones, Typhoons, Hurricanes. However, the term Cyclone is in common use to name a tropical cyclone here in Oz, and many other places. If you say “cyclone” it is usually understood to mean “tropical cyclone” and not just a boring cyclonic depression.

A tropical cyclone is different to a cyclonic depression, as it has a specific heat transfer mechanism and is powered by evaporation from the sea surface, which is why their range is restricted to over warmer waters, and they get the “tropical” part of their name. It is also why they can get so insanely huge and powerful.

8

If you make a cloned copy of your cyborg, that’s a cyclone. But is that the same as a hurricane or typhoon?

9

Hurricanes are in the Atlantic, typhoons are in the Pacific, cyclones are on Coney Island.