Cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons are all essentially the same thing; they simply receive different names depending on where they occur.
- Hurricane:
A violent wind which has a circular movement, especially found in the West Atlantic Ocean. A hurricane is actually a violent storm formed with water which causes heavy rains and fierce winds and they can cause flooding of streets and homes.
- Cyclone:
A violent tropical storm or wind in which the air moves very fast in a circular direction. They can be formed over tropical waters, bar the Southeast Pacific and the South Atlantic Oceans.
Technically, all hurricanes are cyclones - but not all cyclones are hurricanes: If their wind speed is over 74 miles per hour, they're hurricanes, if not, they're just cyclones or tropical storms.
- Typhoon:
A violent wind which has a circular movement, found in the West Pacific Ocean.
Note:
Pressure systems that develop over tropical waters, with tropical-related characteristics, are tropical cyclones, which include tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons (western Pacific), etc., are called tropical cyclones.
Systems that tend to develop in the multitudes with a jet stream, cold core, etc. are referred to as extra-tropical cyclones. These systems usually produce severe weather in the spring and fall, and severe winter weather in the winter.
