Typhoon / noun / ty·​phoon

A typhoon is a powerful tropical storm that forms in the Indian and West Pacific oceans. Many people compare typhoons to hurricanes, but they are actually the same kind of storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that there is only one difference between typhoons and hurricanes: the location in which they occur.

Typhoons typically occur off coastlines in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific during the typhoon season. Hurricanes occur in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as in the Central, North, and East Pacific oceans.

Meteorologists and oceanographers classify storms as typhoons or hurricanes when their maximum sustained winds reach speeds of more than 74 mph. Like hurricanes, typhoons produce dangerous wind, rain, and hail, along with potentially life-threatening storm surges when they come in contact with land.

In a Sentence

Typhoons and hurricanes are devastating oceanic storms on different sides of the earth.

Typhoon season begins in April and ends in December for the Central, North, and Eastern Pacific Oceans.

Being caught in a devastating typhoon is the last place people want to be on a worldwide cruise!

Etymology

English speakers began using the word typhoon to describe tropical storms in the Indian and Western Pacific oceans around 1771. The word typhoon is still used to describe these naturally occurring water-based storms in weather forecasting, meteorology, and everyday conversation.

Synonym

Cyclone, Tropical Storm

Antonym

Calm, Tranquility