Have you ever wondered what the difference was between a cyclone, hurricane, and typhoon? Ever heard of a tropical storm or depression and wondered what they were? Since hurricane season is upon us I thought we should all be "in the know" about this subject.
What it basically comes down to is location and speed.
If a thunderstorm has definite cyclonic surface wind circulation then it's classified as follows:
Tropical depression- winds less than 17 mph
Tropical storm- winds more that 17 mph but less than 33 mph
If winds reach more than 33 mph then they are called:
"hurricane" (the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E)
"typhoon" (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline)
"severe tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E)
"severe cyclonic storm" (the North Indian Ocean)
"tropical cyclone" (the Southwest Indian Ocean)
This is a picture of a temple in Mynamar (see post below to know where that is) that was destroyed due to Cyclone Nargis.
