What is the difference between these.?

Question

What is the difference between a cyclone and a tornado. And is a cyclone like a hurricane?

Answer 1

I think the easiest way to answer this question would be to define all three for you!

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a cumulonimbus (thunderstorm) cloud and touches the ground.

A hurricane is another name for a tropical cyclone. It's a warm core low pressure system that evolves over large bodies of warm waters. Tropical cyclones have organized circulation, and depending on how strong the sustained winds are...they are classified the following ways.

A tropical depression is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 38 mph or less. A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds between 39 and 73 mph. A hurricane is a tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or more.

Finally, a cyclone is another name for a hurricane in other parts of the world (Indian Ocean). A cyclone also refers to a low pressure system.

Answer 2

A Hurricane is a cyclone.  Cyclones are massive low pressure areas.   They can be tropical or otherwise.  Sometimes tornadoes are called cyclones too.

Answer 3

To be really technical about it, a cyclone is ANY rotating low pressure system.  Tornadoes, hurricanes, mid latitude low pressure systems are all particular types of cyclones, being defined basically by their individual sizes and characteristics.