Tropical cyclones form in many parts of the world, but they have different names depending on their location. On this page you'll learn about the tropics, where tropical cyclones form, the different names for tropical cyclones in different parts of the world, and what the word "hurricane" means.
Tropical cyclones are storms that are born in the tropics and spin cyclonically. Cyclonic means clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. These powerful storms threaten people in many areas around the world.
Nearly all tropical cyclones are born in the tropics, but where is that? The tropical zone (highlighted in purple on the map below) is an area that stretches around the world on both sides of the equator between the Tropic of Cancer (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the Tropic of Capricorn (in the Southern Hemisphere).
Tropical storms usually form several hundred miles either north or south of the equator because conditions closer to the equator are not right to produce them. After they grow into full-blown storms, however, tropical storms often move out of the tropics to threaten subtropical areas in North America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
Hurricanes can travel long distances and strike coastal areas anywhere along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast, even in places like Washington D.C. and Rhode Island. People from Texas all the way to Maine need to be prepared during hurricane season.
Tropical cyclones have different names, depending on their location. In the Atlantic Ocean and Eastern Pacific Ocean, weaker
systems are called tropical storms and the stronger ones are called hurricanes (the yellow area on the map). In the Northwest
Pacific Ocean, weaker systems are also called tropical storms, but the stronger ones are called typhoons (the green area on the
map). In the Southwest Pacific and Indian Oceans, they are simply called cyclones (the red areas on the map).
Question: In which ocean can all three types of tropical cyclones (hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones) be found? (Choose an answer.)
Tropical cyclones hardly ever form in the South Atlantic Ocean and the Eastern South Pacific Ocean because conditions are not favorable in these areas.
The word hurricane has been traced back to the name of the Mayan god Hurakan, who, according to Mayan legend, blew his breath across the chaotic waters to reveal land.
The god of evil for the Carib people was named hurican, which is now the name for tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The American Meteorological Society's Glossary of Meteorology lists a bunch of alternative spellings for the word hurricane:
foracan, foracane, furacana, furacane, furicane, furicano, haracana, harauncana, haraucane, haroucana, harrycain, hauracane, haurachana, herican, hericane, hericano, herocane, herricao, herycano, heuricane, hiracano, hirecano, huracano, hurican, hurleblast, hurlecan, hurlecano, hurlicano, hurrican, hurricano, hyrracano, urycan, hyrricano, jimmycane, oraucan, uracan, uracano
