| What's the difference between a typhoon and a hurricane? As realtors like to say, "location, location, location" (and nothing else). Typhoons are west of the International Date Line and hurricanes are east of it. A typhoon or hurricane is basically a collection of extremely strong thunderstorms that spin around in a big circle. Though they are fun to fly through, they can and do cause considerable death and destruction in certain parts of the world. Because of this, many dedicated people are always on duty, studying satellite photos and other weather information to watch for conditions that are likely to spawn a destructive storm. Before a storm can be called a typhoon or hurricane, it must satisfy a few conditions. First, it must have sustained winds of 64 knots (74 mph) or more. Secondly, the winds must have a closed circulation; in other words, the winds must go around in a complete circle. A potential storm that doesn't meet both these criteria is called a Tropical Storm. Above is a picture of the center of Tropical Storm Cary, in July 1984. This is just a baby. We are about 320 miles north of Guam. This storm had a closed circulation (it looks fairly well developed), but the wind speed was not high enough. This storm did become a full-fledged typhoon one day after this picture was taken. |
