Hurricane or Typhoon? How Tropical Cyclones Get Their Names.
Hurricane and tropical cyclones are the tropical, generally short-lived, storms that are the most common and most dangerous weather events on Earth. While most of the time they are not life-threatening, there have been many notable human tragedies in the past two centuries due to violent storms. In the last century there have been more than two dozen major, modern tropical cyclones, with the most devastating being the 1900 hurricane season.
The most common storms occur in the tropical Atlantic but have been seen in every part of the world. The season started on April 1st and runs through November 30th. For the most part the average season lasts from June 1st to November 30th, although the first three months are the most active. Some cyclones, such as El Niño and La Niña events, and the El Nino Southern Oscillation, affect the intensity of storms, with some affecting the start of the season and others the end.
There are four main categories of tropical cyclones: typhoon, hurricane, typhoon, and hurricane. We will give a basic explanation of each and go into more detail on the major events in the season. For a more in depth analysis of storms, see Tropical cyclone.
Tropical cyclones can occur anywhere in the world, but their most frequent locations are in tropical latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Their movements are generally in the same direction, but at different speeds.
Tropical Storms
When a tropical cyclone is on the move the rotation of its axis is slowly turning (see rotation of the Earth), while its motion is driven by a wind called the Beaufort wind (also referred to as the surface wind). When the cyclone’s movement is mostly in one direction the winds are not strong enough to change direction when the storm moves away, and the center of the storm can be found at the peak of this pressure gradient where the gradient is highest.
Tropical cyclones are classified according to the intensity of their winds. Because their winds can change directions, they are classified in one of three ways. In the Northern Hemisphere they are classified as tropical depressions, in the Southern Hemisphere as tropical cyclones. Here are the categories of tropical cyclones