Typhoons and Cyclones

So what's the difference? Typhoons are formed in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, north of the equator, and west of the International Date Line (IDL). Cyclones are formed in the southern Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Their sibling on the opposite side of the world is the hurricane, which forms in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern Pacific Ocean. With that said, they can be used interchangeably with regards to the definition. Bottom line is, they are all the same except for the area that they are generated in.

There are varying classifications with regards to these events. Hurricanes will get the honor of its own web page because of the frequency of formation, the devastation it inflicts, and they almost always make landfall. Typhoons can form but may not necessarily make landfall due to the vast greatness of the Pacific Ocean and only small islands in the vicinity where they normally form, until you reach Asia or Australia. Many seasons have come and gone, and although they may gain intensity around the small islands, they normally lose intensity before they reach the Philippines, Japan, or the Asian mainland. The year 2009 has been a little different; sorry Philippines, but you've been hit with more than your fare share for this year.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) provides a system of standardized classification, but many regions such as Japan and Australia still choose to use their own. Typhoons are not normally classed until they've reached a sustained wind speed of greater than 63 knots. (or about 118 kilometers/hour). Before then, each event is classed as a tropical depression (sustained winds of under 34 knots) and as a tropical storm (sustained winds from 34-63 knots). A super-typhoon is a storm with maximum sustained winds of greater than 130 knots (equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane).

Just remember, the standards vary from one major location to another, so, what may be classified as a tropical depression in Guam, may be classified as a tropical storm by Japan. Sustained winds as defined by WMO is the average wind speed at 10-minute intervals as measured from a height of 10 meter (33 feet). The United States utilizes the average wind speed at 1-minute intervals as measured from a height of 10 meters (33 feet). Also, just in case you are itching to convert from US standard to metric, 1 knot=1.852 kilometers per hour or 1 knot=1.151 miles per hour).

For the United States and areas of interest (such as Guam, Micronesia, and Hawaii), the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) provides for a continuous 24-hour monitoring of events in the Pacific all year-round. JTWC is operated under the US Navy and the US Air Force. All other countries, such as Japan and Philippines, have their own agencies and methods of monitoring, but work in close relation with JTWC to ensure all possible areas that may be affected are warned in ample time to ensure minimal damages to property and hopefully no loss of lives.

These cyclonic activities normally occur between the months of June through December (known as "typhoon season" or the "rainy season" in the tropics). There have been occasions these where weather patterns formed outside of the season. With given climate shifts and changes, there is a possiblitity that there will be more activities outside of the season.

The cyclonic events are given names according to a sequential order arranged from 5 lists that are submitted by the affected Asian countries and the United States. Unlike hurricanes, these are not normally named after people but rather named afer birds, flowers, and astrological signs. Since Japan and Philippines have their own agencies, sometimes same events will end up having two to three names. Philippines will sometimes use the name of a person to name the event and Japan just assigns a numerical sequence for that calendar year, for example, the 2nd cyclonic event for the year would be called "Typhoon Number 2."

Cheers!

Jason

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