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Hurricane (Typhoon, Cyclone)

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Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Tropical cyclone. An organized, cyclonically rotating system of convection driven by fluxes of heat derived from the ocean. Tropical cyclones are classified by their intensities using nomenclature that varies regionally. Tropical storms are tropical cyclones that have maximum sustained winds between 17 and 32 m/s (34–63 kts); intense tropical cyclones – those with winds of at least 33 m/s (64 kts) – are called hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins and typhoons in the western North Pacific. Typhoons whose maximum sustained 1-minute surface winds exceed 65 m/s (130 kts) are called super typhoons, and the strongest hurricanes (Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale; see Tables 1 and 2) are classified as major hurricanes in the Western Hemisphere. In the Indian Ocean and South Pacific, tropical cyclones are referred to as cyclones.

Hurricane (Typhoon, Cyclone), Table 1 Original Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity (Simpson...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, 1204 Eller O and M Bldg., 3150 TAMU, 77843-3150, College Station, TX, USA

    Prof. Robert Korty

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  1. Prof. Robert Korty
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Correspondence to Robert Korty .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

    Peter T. Bobrowsky

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Korty, R. (2013). Hurricane (Typhoon, Cyclone). In: Bobrowsky, P.T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Natural Hazards. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4399-4_175

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