Cisco - 11-8-2013 at 04:09 PM
I have been confused by the terms as have many on forum.
This article I found interesting and explanatory.
"Supertyphoon Haiyan may be one of the strongest storms at landfall on record. Satellite images and storm tracking warned that the cyclone was heading
toward the Philippines and allowed authorities to evacuate 700,000 people from low-lying areas, but the death toll may still be high. Last year,
Explainer examined which kinds of storms are the deadliest. The original article is below.
As Hurricane Sandy has churned toward the East Coast bringing life-threatening flooding and high winds, it has also been called a tropical cyclone, a
“nor'easter on steroids,” and a Frankenstorm. What kind of storm tends to be the most dangerous?
The typhoon. Typhoon is the name for a strong tropical cyclone in the northwest Pacific Ocean, around East or Southeast Asia, while hurricane is the
name for a strong tropical cyclone in the north Atlantic Ocean or the northeast Pacific Ocean, around North and Central America. Cyclone is the more
generic name for these strong tropical storm systems around the world, but the name is also used to refer more specifically to the powerful storms
that form in the Indian Ocean or around Australia. Of the three main kinds of cyclones, typhoons tend to be even larger and more powerful than
hurricanes, since the northwest Pacific Ocean provides a larger area in which to form.
The largest typhoons are called super typhoons. To count as a super typhoon, a storm must have sustained winds of more than 150 miles per hour. While
it is possible for a strong Category 4 or 5 hurricane to be as powerful as a super typhoon, most of the most powerful storms in recorded history have
been super typhoons. For example, probably the largest and most intense tropical cyclone on record was 1979’s Super Typhoon Tip, which was estimated
to have sustained winds of more than 190 mph and which sent gale-force winds as far as 650 miles from its center. Its central pressure was measured at
a record low of 870 millibars. (Lower pressure tends to make for more powerful storms.) In contrast, 2005’s Hurricane Wilma set the record for lowest
pressure measured in the Atlantic at 882 millibars. (On Monday morning, Sandy’s pressure was measured at 943 millibars.)
Typhoons and cyclones also tend to cause more deaths, especially when they hit less-developed areas, though they don’t cost as much in property damage
as the hurricanes that hit the United States. The 1970 Bhola Cyclone was perhaps the deadliest storm in history, killing at least 300,000 people and
perhaps over 500,000 people (estimates vary), most of whom were swept away in the storm surge. Like Bhola, most of the deadliest storms in modern
history have hit India and Bangladesh, where the death tolls have been in the tens of thousands. The deadliest hurricanes in the United States have
killed hundreds and even, in a few cases, more than a thousand, with Hurricane Katrina killing more than 1,700. Measured in dollars, the Bhola Cyclone
cost in the tens of millions, while several U.S. storms have cost in the billions. Katrina was one of the costliest storms in history, at an estimated
$81 billion.
While they don’t cause as much large-scale damage, the worst kind of storm to find at your doorstep would be a tornado or a firestorm. Both are rare
and impact smaller areas, but they can spread quickly and have a higher fatality rate than any cyclone. The deadliest single tornadoes have killed in
the hundreds, while the United States’ deadliest firestorm, which is a forest fire fed by the wind, killed more than 1,000. The most damaging winter
storms in modern U.S. history, which include both blizzards and ice storms, have been comparatively less lethal but have still left dozens dead and as
much as $1 billion in damages. Deaths from dust storms and sand storms are relatively rare both at home and abroad, though they can help spread
diseases and in recent years have killed dozens of Americans in traffic accidents."
woody with a view - 11-8-2013 at 04:13 PM
they're wave makers!
Mexitron - 11-8-2013 at 04:16 PM
What's amazing about this latest typhoon is it is essentially a catagory 3 to 4 tornado in wind strength but with a diameter a hundred miles across.
Imagine the stories the survivors will tell their grandkids...
motoged - 11-8-2013 at 05:49 PM
Call this storm what you will....but winds of up to 300 kms/hr.
Holy F%#* !!!
Hold yer hat !!!! 
TLBaja79 - 11-9-2013 at 09:10 AM
They are all cyclones. A Tropical Cyclone is what we know as a Hurricane or Typhoon depending on the region of the world. There are some other names
I've only seen only used in a text book.
They spin Counter-Clockwise in the Northern Hemi and Clockwise in the South.
An Extra-Tropical Cyclone is a 'storm' outside of the tropical areas. During the Winter on the US West Coast we see our storms come across from
Siberia and the gulf of Alaska. Those are also Cyclones (ExtraTropical Cyclones).
All are definitely something you want to stay away from but are awesome to know about and then see first hand.
They are very dangerous for a handful of reasons but can be Fun Stuff!
bad news
durrelllrobert - 11-9-2013 at 09:19 AM
Tacloban, Philippines (CNN) -- A day after Super Typhoon Haiyan roared into the Philippines, officials predicted that the death toll could reach 1,200
-- or more.
"We estimate 1,000 people were killed in Tacloban and 200 in Samar province," Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, said of
two coastal areas where Haiyan hit first as it began its march Friday across the archipelago.
CNN-25 minutes ago
DavidE - 11-9-2013 at 01:45 PM
Somehow I see a figure of 20-30,000
Entire villages buried in mudslides. Flash floods washing out other villages. The tidal surge was said to be 30+ feet. Put 40' waves on top of that
and eegods total coastal devastation.