If you watch, listen or read the news, it’s all about Hurricane Florence. I’ve noticed a couple of times that Florence has been referred to as a cyclone — I don’t remember that term being used for a storm in the Atlantic Ocean before, but I figured that hurricane rules have probably changed like everything else. I wasn’t aware or any real difference in a hurricane and a cyclone, but thought I’d check.
My extensive research, once again, proved me correct.
The only difference between a hurricane and a cyclone (and a typhoon) is the location of the storm. If the weather disturbance (storm) occurs in the Atlantic or Northeast Pacific, it’s called a hurricane. If it occurs in the South Pacific or Indian Ocean, it’s a cyclone and if the storm is in Northwest Pacific, it’s called a typhoon.
All these storms get “names” arrived at by a strict procedure established by the World Meterological Organization. For Atlantic hurricanes, there is a list of male and female names that are used on a six-year rotation. The only time that there is a change is if a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of its name on a different storm would be inappropriate.
So hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are all the same. Of course I grew up with tornados, which is another whole subject. They don’t name tornadoes — well, at least they’re not called anything that would be appropriate for mixed company.
So keep your eye on Florence and “hunker down.” Just remember that after a hurricane, comes a rainbow.
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