Is a typhoon the same thing as a hurricane...?

Question

The definitions I read were ambiguous. (So please don't post a wiki link, it didn't help) It seems typhoons have cyclones, but hurricanes don't. Is that the case? Is a typhoon like a tornado on the water?

Answer 1

Yes.  A hurricane and a typhoon is the same thing.  The difference is simply the name, which is based on where they are located.  Hurricanes move over the eastern Pacific and the Atlantic basin, while Typhoons move over the west Pacific Ocean.  They are both types of cyclones, cyclones being ANY rotating low pressure system.

Now I'll really confuse you.  Remember Myanmar?  That place was struck by a Cyclone, which is also the same as a Typhoon or Hurricane.  They are just called Cyclones (note capitalization) over the Indian Ocean.

Answer 2

Same exact thing. Hurricane is the name in the western hemisphere. Typhoon is the name in the Eastern Hemisphere. and No typhoon is not a tornado☺

Answer 3

Called specifically a tropical cyclone. I do believe in the Northern Hemisphere they go counterclockwise, and in the southern clockwise. North Americans called them hurricanes, the far east it is a typhoon and the Indian ocean they call them cyclones.

Answer 4

Yes, it's the same thing.  It's called a "hurricane" in the northern hemisphere, and "typhoon" in the southern hemisphere.

Answer 5

yeah