Cyclones and hurricanes are the same thing as tropical storms but are named differently on the basis of where and how they occur. Cyclones and hurricanes cause atmospheric instability they are strong and possess the power to cause destruction. In this article, we will first understand the terms hurricane and cyclone and then look at the difference between them. In general, we can differentiate between cyclones and hurricanes as the storms that form over the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast Pacific are hurricanes, whereas those that form over the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean are cyclones.
Hurricane
- Hurricane is defined as a type of tropical cyclone that forms over warm water that exceeds 74mph and has rain, thunder lightning.
- Hurricane season is between June 1 to November 30.
- Hurricanes form over the water and they are very huge.
- Hurricane is also called typhoons
Cyclone
- A cyclone is defined as an atmospheric system in which there is rapid inward circulation of air masses having low pressure, leading to destructive weather.
- Cyclone season is between November and April.
- A cyclone is a circular windstorm.
●Difference between Cyclone & Hurricane
| CYCLONE | HURRICANE | |
| About | ●Atmospheric system in which there is the rapid inward circulation of air masses having low-pressure leading to destructive weather. ● Cyclone season is between November and April. ●A cyclone is a circular wind storm. ●cyclone is the rapid circulating air with low pressure. | ● A type of tropical cyclone which forms over warm water that exceeds 74mph and has rain, thunder lightning. ● Hurricane season is between June 1 to November 30. ●Hurricanes form over the water and they are very huge. ●Hurricane is also called typhoons. ● hurricanes have varying high speeds. |
| Rotation | ●Cyclone rotates Clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. | ●Hurricanes rotate Clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere same as cyclones. |
| Intensity | ●cyclones are strong. ●The scale used for measuring cyclones is the Beaufort Scale andSaffir-Simpson scale. (it may vary in different countries) ●winds can be up to 300kph and can cause widespread damage. ●the strongest cyclone recorded worldwide was the tycoon tip. | ●Hurricanes are huge. ● it is classified into 5 categories according to theSaffir-Simpson HurricaneWind Scale ●the speed and intensity of damage can increase from category 1 to category 5. ●hurricanes produce heavy rainfall and are very destructive. ●they get weakened immediately over cold waters and land. |
| Location | ● cyclones are formed over South Pacific and the Indian Ocean. | ●Hurricanes are formed over North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast Pacific. |
| Affected areas | ●It affects the pacific ocean. | ●It affects the Caribbean sea. |
| Frequency | ●cyclones are 10-14 per year | ●hurricanes are 10-15 per year |
| Occurrence | ●cyclones usually form over warm waters | ●hurricanes form over warm waters. |
| Form of precipitation | ●It is a rain form. | ●it is in rain form along with thunder and lightning. |
| Location | ●it begins in tropical regions like the Pacific Islands, Northern Australia, and other areas. | ●it begins near the tropical zone over the warm waters in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. |
