Tropical cyclone is a generic term used to describe thunderstorm systems, formed over tropical or sub-tropical waters, with circular wind patterns and wind speeds that exceed 17 meters per second or 62.4 kilometers per hour.
A tropical depression occurs when tropical cyclone conditions are reached, but with a wind speed of fewer than 17 meters per second.
Tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Ocean, parts of the Northeast and South Pacific Ocean are called hurricanes.
When tropical cyclones form in the Northwest Pacific Ocean, they are referred to as typhoons.
Severe cyclonic storms are tropical cyclones occurring in the North Indian Ocean.
Typhoons that have winds maintaining a speed of at least 256 kilometers per hour, for at least one minute, are called super typhoons. Hurricanes of the same winds fall into hurricane categories 4 or 5.
A tornado is a violently spinning column of air that is usually, but not always, visible as a funnel cloud. Most scientists agree that such clouds, in order to be classified as tornadoes, must touch both the ground and the cloud cover in the sky.
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