Is it a cyclone typhoon or hurricane what is the difference…
Cyclone typhoon or hurricane are all the same weather phenomenon, officially all are tropical cyclones, they just use these distinctive names for? storms that appear in different parts of the world.
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In other words they are all different names for the same kind of intense low pressure system. All low pressure systems are cyclones.
The name ?Cyclone? are storms that occur in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.
?Typhoon? are storms in the northwest Pacific and the term ?Hurricane? are storms in the Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, central and northeast Pacific.
The dividing line for whether a tropical cyclone is called a cyclone typhoon or hurricane is based on latitude and longitude. A perfect example is Hurricane Genevieve.
So when Hurricane Genevieve crossed the International Date Line (180?W) from American forecasting territory into Japanese forecasting territory it went from been called Hurricane Genevieve to Super Typhoon Genevieve simply because it crossed from one region into the other.
Same storm, different name.
Tropical cyclone or cyclone, what?s the difference…
A tropical cyclone is the term used by meteorologists to describe a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation.
Once a tropical cyclone reaches maximum sustained winds of 74 miles per hour or higher, it is then classified as a cyclone typhoon or hurricane depending upon where the storm originates in the world.
How cyclone typhoon or hurricane are classified…
Tropical Depression: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (33 knots, 61 kph) or less.
Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph (34 to 63 knots, 62-117 kph).
Cyclone typhoon or hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph (64 knots, 119 kph) or higher. In the western North Pacific, hurricanes are called typhoons; similar storms in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean are called cyclones.
Major cyclone typhoon or hurricane: A tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 111 mph (96 knots, 178 kph) or higher, corresponding to a Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Tropical cyclones rotate clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
7 official forecasting agencies…
Around the world there are?7 official forecasting agencies that are responsible for issuing forecasts on tropical systems, each can declare individual storms a cyclone typhoon or hurricane.
- In the Americans? the?National Hurricane Center based out in Miami is responsible for hurricanes that form in the northern Atlantic and eastern Pacific east of 140?W longitude.
- When a storm forms in the eastern Pacific and crosses the 140?W into the central Pacific, it then becomes the responsibility of the?Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu. This agency is responsible for all tropical cyclones in the northern hemisphere that form between 140?W and the International Date Line (180?W).
- When a storm like Hurricane Genevieve?forms in the CPHC’s area of responsibility and moves west over the International Date Line, it becomes the responsibility of?Japanese Meteorological Agency, which is responsible for all tropical systems that form in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. And are then named “typhoons”. Read more about how the names Cyclone, Typhoon and Hurricane come about
- Around Australia, storms that form are simply called “tropical cyclones” and they’re the responsibility of the?Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
- In the northern Indian Ocean, tropical cyclones that form are the responsibility of the?India Meteorological Department.
- If a tropical cyclone forms in the southwestern Indian Ocean ? around Madagascar, for instance ??M?t?o France?is responsible for issuing forecasts.
- Lastly, cyclones that form in the southern Pacific Ocean are under the responsibility of?New Zealand’s Met Service.
