Typhoon Vs Hurricanes

We will start understanding about typhoons and hurricanes by understanding the etymology of the words. The word typhoon has its origin in the Asian region. Tai fung means great wind in Chinese. Violent storms in the Chinese seas were given the name 'tai fung'. At the same time 'tufan' in Arabic, Persian and Hindi means 'big cyclonic storm'. Now let's see the etymology of the word hurricane. A number of English and Spanish words have their origin in Latin. However, the word hurricane was exported into English, directly from Spanish. The word was actually picked up by Spanish explorers, from a Caribbean Arawak language called Taino. Before we get into the typhoon vs hurricane debate, we must understand what a typhoon definition and hurricane definition reads like.

Definition - Typhoon vs Hurricanes

The typhoon definition is "a violent tropical cyclone, which occurs in the western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean". Typhoons occur to the west of the International Date Line. Hurricane can be defined as "a severe tropical cyclone, which originates in the equatorial regions in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and the eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean". They occur to the east of the International Date Line. They travel up in the north direction. A characteristic of a hurricane is heavy rains. Read more on interesting facts about hurricanes.

General Debate - Typhoon vs Hurricanes

Which were the common words that you noticed, as you read the definitions of typhoon and hurricanes? Was it "tropical cyclone"? Yeah, indeed it was. Let's read about tropical cyclones. What is a cyclone? A large low pressure center storm, which has strong winds and heavy rains for characteristics, is called a tropical cyclone. "Tropical" refers to the geographic origin of these storms. These storms have an anti-clockwise rotation in the northern hemisphere and a clockwise rotation in the southern hemisphere. Cyclones have various names depending on their location. The names are hurricanes, typhoons, tropical storms, tropical depressions or just cyclones. A little trivia on cyclones, they are called 'Willy-Willys' in Australia. Read about the difference between hurricane and tornado.

Cyclones develop in large warm water bodies, but lose their strength when they reach a landmass. They have a minimum speed of 176 mph. This is precisely the reason, why coastal areas get devastated by these storms, but inland masses remain immune to them. Although they are devastating in nature, they also bring relief from drought in some areas. These cyclones are important for atmospheric circulation mechanism, as they carry heat and energy from the tropics to the temperate climates. This maintains an equilibrium in the troposphere of the earth's atmosphere.

Typhoons are said to be stronger in intensity as compared to hurricanes, as better conditions for the development of a storm are created in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean. Due to the unlimited amount of warm water, the conditions are favorable for high frequency typhoons. Although the intensity of wind is stronger in a typhoon, they cause less damage as compared to hurricanes, due to their location. Hence, hurricane pictures are always scarier. Read on to know how do hurricanes form and how they are measured using the Saffir Simpson scale.

There are some reports, which say that the wind in a hurricane can blow both clockwise as well as anti-clockwise. On the other hand in a typhoon the wind blows only anti-clockwise.

The frequency of typhoons is approximately 25 to 30 in a year and that of hurricanes is 10 to 15 per year. Both typhoons and hurricanes are given names. These names help in the categorization of these cyclones. Hurricanes are given human names every year, like hurricane Katrina, etc, whereas typhoons around China and Japan are given names of living objects like flowers, etc. For more information read how are hurricanes named.

For more information on hurricanes, read the following articles:

• Famous Hurricanes of the World
• What Can Make a Hurricane Lose its Power

In the typhoon vs hurricane debate, the most noteworthy point is that, the place of origin of these tropical cyclones will decide whether they are typhoons or hurricanes. I feel because hurricanes hit the United States, (and the world follows what happens in the US) they are more famous than typhoons. The reason can also be the scale destruction, that they cause.