Listening to the news with your parents, you probably have heard the words, hurricane and typhoon. What are they? Do they mean the same thing? Let Science answer those questions.
A hurricane and a typhoon refer to the same weather event, just in different locations. Let’s take rice as an example, different tribes in Nigeria have different names for it. It is iresi in Yoruba, osikapa in Igbo, and shinkafa in Hausa; yet they are all referring to the same thing. This same principle can be applied to hurricanes and typhoons. So, what are they?
Both hurricanes and typhoons are tropical cyclones. They are rotating storms that produce very strong winds, which are accompanied by heavy rain.
When one of these storms develops in the Atlantic Ocean, it’s called a hurricane. Examples of places where it is called this are the United States, Canada, Bahamas, Barbados and countries of North America, and the Caribbean.
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
If this storm develops in the Pacific or Indian Ocean, it is called a typhoon. Examples of places where it is so named are Japan, China, The Phillipines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and other countries of Asia, and the pacific islands where they may simply be called tropical cyclones
[/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”]
Some Scientific Words To Keep In Mind
Tropical cyclone: A strong, rotating storm. These usually form over tropical areas around the equator where the water is warm. Tropical cyclones have strong winds, accompanied by heavy rain. Large ones in the Atlantic are known as Hurricanes. Those in the Pacific are termed Typhoons.
Tropics: The region near Earth’s equator. Temperatures here are generally warm to hot, year-round. Nigeria is one of such countries that can be found in the tropical region.
[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]