What is the difference between hurricanes and tornadoes as Milton wreaks havoc on US

Hurricane Milton has caused calamity across Florida, and it has also prompted weather enthusiasts to question the difference between hurricanes, cyclones and tornadoes

People are only just realising the difference between a hurricane, a cyclone and a typhoon as Hurricane Milton wreaks havoc.

The storm made its way to the Florida Coast around 1.30am GMT on Thursday morning (October 10) after days of anticipation as it built momentum in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the storm being downgraded from Category Five to Category Three, it has still caused devastation across the Sunshine State including multiple fatalities.

Close to three million homes and businesses have been left without power with wind speeds of around 120mph caused the roof of a stadium to be ripped off and a crane to collapse. At its worst, the hurricane reached wind speeds of 155mph.

READ MORE: Hurricane Milton survivor dubbed 'Lieutenant Dan’ stayed in boat after refusing to leave

READ MORE: Florida woman thought she'd escaped Hurricane Milton until she spots major issue

The terrifying storm comes just two weeks after Hurricane Helene destroyed much of the state’s north ‘Big Bend’ region – but how do hurricanes differ from other weather events?

Hurricanes and typhoons are actually the same kind of phenomenon – a tropical cyclone. Huge tropical storms which can only form over the water's surface, spin and are fed by warm air. They begin over oceans and pick up energy as the warm air picks up water and rises.

The warm air rising into the storm forms an area of low pressure underneath which then more air rushes in to fill the gap. This causes a spinning cycle and forms clouds and thunderstorms. The water picked up by the warm air condenses and forms droplets, which releases even more power for the storm.

The difference in name comes from the location of each storm. Tropical cyclones that form in the Atlantic Ocean and north-eastern Pacific Ocean are known as hurricanes, while those that form in the north-western Pacific Ocean, close to places like China and Japan are known as typhoons. Cyclones is the south Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

The location where they form also determines which direction they will spin. Cyclones rotate clockwise, the opposite direction to typhoons and hurricanes, because they are formed in the Southern Hemisphere.

Tornadoes are not as large as but still very violent spinning columns of air that are formed only over land. They occur when the ground temperature increases and moist air heats and starts to rise.

A video explaining the differences between the storms was shared on TikTok and people watching were baffled that they never knew this information. One person replied: “What is school teaching us then i never knew this.” Another person added: “You’ve just taught me more than my teacher.”

Do you have a story to share? Email eve.wagstaff@reachplc.com

Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.