In case you didn't know, and I didn't, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons are all the same weather phenomenon but different names are used depending on where they are.
In the Atlantic and North-East Pacific they are called "Hurricanes".
In the North-West Pacific they are called "Typhoons"
In the South Pacific and Indian Ocean that are called "Cyclones".
But perhaps its just me and you lot already knew this.
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>> In case you didn't know, and I didn't, hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons are all the
>> same weather phenomenon but different names are used depending on where they are.
>>
>> In the Atlantic and North-East Pacific they are called "Hurricanes".
>> In the North-West Pacific they are called "Typhoons"
>> In the South Pacific and Indian Ocean that are called "Cyclones".
>>
>> But perhaps its just me and you lot already knew this.
I'd understood it to be something like that but had not grasped the detail.
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We often used to be told by the weather man about cyclones and anti-cyclones moving across the country. I don't remember their being hurricanes however.
Something seems to have happened to the definition.
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Cyclones and anti-cyclones refer to which way the air is moving. (Anti-clockwise - or clockwise in the southern hemisphere.)
A fierce tropical cyclone is a hurricane, tornado or (in areas where they describe it thus - see No FM2R's post) a cyclone.
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Different exciting names for a severe depression.
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You only get an 'OO' with typhoons
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No - a tornado is something else again.... !
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And this is a Typhoon: tinyurl.com/n5vhwuq
And this a Hurricane: tinyurl.com/k4xc7l4
:-)
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**typhoon** not tornado. Oops. Straight to the back of the classroom.
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>> But perhaps its just me and you lot already knew this.
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It is you, the rest of us knew that.
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Devastating for the people in the Phillipines,always the poor who suffer most living in their wooden shacks.Over 100mph winds must be terrifying.
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My eldest lives in the Caribbean and the hurricane season runs from June to November. She told me that Hurricanes were always given female names, but that that changed with (IIRC) Hurricane Ivan, that did a considerable level of damage over a very wide area.
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"were always given female names,"
Well, as I used to tell my students, there was a very good reason for that. Hurricanes etc are violent, unpredictable and generally throw a huge dampener on MANkind. Needless to say, the female students then proceeded to prove my point!! ;-)
The other thing to note is that each season the Hurricanes are named alphabetically and alternately male/ female so that, say, first one is Alan, second Bertha, third Carl etc. Next year first one starts with a female name - Anna, then male - Barry etc. They never use same name twice. There will never be another Hurricane Sandy apparently which was the 19th (?) hurricane of that season.
Oceans (tropical Atlantic for hurricanes) where they develop have to have a surface temp of over 27 degrees C hence why they only run from June to Nov. Many tropical storms which are named die out before they reach Caribbean/USA and never make landfall - may veer back into Atlantic
Incidentally, "Hurricane Sandy" was, I think, not a Hurricane when it made landfall and certainly not by the time it reached New York - just remains of a Tropical storm.
Destruction and loss of life caused by this latest typhoon is truly tragic but beware when quoting figures. Wind speed given by BBC (247mph) for several days was in mph but should have been kph (170ish mph). Mind you, 170 or 247 - doesn't make much difference to those poor souls over there - hope we get aid to them quickly - a worthy cause.
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"already knew this"
and that in Australia they are also known as "willy-willys"!!!
Aboriginal term I presume
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>> "already knew this"
>> and that in Australia they are also known as "willy-willys"!!!
>> Aboriginal term I presume
Thought a willy-willy was more like a localised whirlwind type phenomenon - inland/outback rather than coastal. I don't know the origin but I have read a lot of Nevil Shute!!
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Brompt, You may well be right, there seems to be some confusion
After a quick Google (hope Google doen't now keep sending me adverts about Willys!!)
"Definition: There is confusion in the definition of a willy-willy. In the United States, the National Weather Service defines a willy-willy as “a tropical cyclone of hurricane strength near Australia”. But the Australian Bureau of Meteorology defines the term to mean a dust devil where “local hot spots can develop on the ground, drawing in cooler air from around them and causing spiraling of the air”. The American Meteorological Society also agrees on the newer definition of a willy-willy. While the term was previously used to denote a tropical cyclone, it is now commonly used in reference to dust devils.C"
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What is a Sharknado then ?
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Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons - Bromptonaut
