Hurricane vs Typhoon - Difference and Comparison

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	Hurricane	Typhoon
Rotation:	Can be both ways: Clockwise and anti clockwise	Anti clock wise
Frequency:	10-15 per year	25-30 per year
About:	Tropical cyclones in the Atlantic are called Hurricanes.	Tropical cyclones in the Pacific are called Typhoons.
Intensity:	Not very strong	Typhoons are generally very strong because of the Pacific’s warm water.
Location:	North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the International Date Line, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E	Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the International Date Line
Most affected areas:	Caribbean Sea	South East Asia, China Sea etc.

A cyclone is any mass of air that spirals around a low pressure center. It is an organized collection of thunderstorms embedded in a swirling mass of air. In general, both typhoon and hurricanes are tropical cyclones but differ in their locations. Tropical cyclones in the west Pacific are called Typhoons and those in the Atlantic and east Pacific Ocean are called Hurricanes. It’s the longitude that matters.

1 Speed of a typhoon vs. hurricane
2 Differences in Location - Hurricane vs Typhoon
3 Intensity of hurricanes and typhoons
4 Rotation of a typhoon vs hurricane
5 Areas where hurricanse and typhoons occur
6 Names of hurricanes and typhoons
7 References

[edit] Speed of a typhoon vs. hurricane

A tropical cyclone is one in which the maximum sustained surface wind (using the U.S. 1-minute average) is 64 kt (74 mph or 119 km/hr) or more.

[edit] Differences in Location - Hurricane vs Typhoon

The term hurricane is used for Northern Hemisphere tropical cyclones east of the International Date Lineto the Greenwich Meridian. The term typhoon is used for Pacific tropical cyclones north of the Equator west of the International Date Line i.e. between 100E and 180E in the northern hemisphere.

[edit] Intensity of hurricanes and typhoons

Typhoons are generally stronger than hurricanes. This is because of warmer water in the western Pacific which creates better conditions for development of a storm. This unlimited amount of warm water also makes for increased frequency of typhoons. Even the wind intensity in a typhoon is stronger than that of a hurricane but they cause comparatively lesser loss due to their location.

[edit] Rotation of a typhoon vs hurricane

Some reports also suggest that typhoons can only be anti-clockwise while hurricanes can be both anti-clockwise and clockwise.

[edit] Areas where hurricanse and typhoons occur

Figures suggest the most common area for a Hurricane to occur is the Caribbean Sea while typhoons have a frequent occurrence off the coast of South East Asia.

[edit] Names of hurricanes and typhoons

Some commonly occurring hurricanes and typhoons have been named to categorize them. The names of Hurricanes are given each year. A few hurricanes named in the Atlantic in 2007 are Andrea, Barry and Dean. Some Typhoons named in the Western North Pacific and the South China Sea are Damrey, Langwang and Kirogi. Typhoons in the Chinese and Japanese regions are named after living things and often objects like flowers, rivers etc.