Hurricane vs. Typhoon vs. Cyclone — What Is the Difference? — In Plain Words

General information only.

Short answer

The only difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is the location where the storm occurs.

Hurricanes and typhoons are the same weather phenomenon: tropical cyclones.

The name changes by where the storm is in the world. The storm itself is the same kind of storm.

What this page covers

This page explains the difference between the names hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone, in plain words. It is based on one page from the NOAA Ocean Service: the fact page “What is the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?”

Cross-reference, in plain text only: See also the companion page “How Do Hurricanes Get Their Names?”

The general name: tropical cyclone

A tropical cyclone is a generic 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.

That is the general term. Hurricane and typhoon are names for the same phenomenon in different places.

The name depends on location

NOAA states the names by region like this:

• Hurricane is used in the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific.
• Typhoon is used in the Northwest Pacific. The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon.
• Tropical cyclone is used in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. In those regions, the generic term tropical cyclone is used, regardless of the strength of the wind associated with the weather system.

So the name tells you where the storm originates. It does not mean a different kind of storm.

How the storm grows stronger: NOAA's ladder

The weakest tropical cyclones are called tropical depressions.

If a depression intensifies such that its maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour (62.76 kilometers per hour), the tropical cyclone becomes a tropical storm.

Once a tropical cyclone reaches maximum sustained winds of 74 miles per hour (119.09 kilometers per hour) or higher, it is then classified as a hurricane, typhoon, or tropical cyclone, depending upon where the storm originates in the world.

That is the whole ladder as NOAA states it on this fact page: tropical depression, then tropical storm at 39 miles per hour, then hurricane, typhoon, or tropical cyclone at 74 miles per hour or higher — with the final name depending on location.

What tropical cyclones need

The ingredients for tropical cyclones include a pre-existing weather disturbance, warm tropical oceans, moisture, and relatively light winds.

If the right conditions persist long enough, they can combine to produce the violent winds, large waves, torrential rains, and floods we associate with this phenomenon.

What “potential tropical cyclone” means

At times, when a weather system does not meet all of these conditions, but is forecast to bring tropical storm or hurricane force winds to land in the next day or two, it is called a potential tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the central and eastern North Pacific basins.

Hurricane season in the Atlantic

In the Atlantic, hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30. Ninety-seven percent of tropical cyclone activity occurs during this time period.

However, there is nothing magical about these dates. Hurricanes can and do occur outside of this six month period.

The main parts of a tropical cyclone

The main parts of a tropical cyclone are the rainbands, the eye, and the eyewall.

Air spirals in toward the center in a counter-clockwise pattern in the northern hemisphere (clockwise in the southern hemisphere), and out the top in the opposite direction.

In the very center of the storm, air sinks, forming an “eye” that is mostly cloud-free.

General information only.