Home / Weather News /

Tropical storms: what's the difference?

13:00
19 December 2021

Hurricanes, cyclones, typhoons
Tropical storms: what's the difference?

Hurricane

Typhoon Rai hit the Philippines this week as the Atlantic hurricane season ends and Australia's cyclone season commences. You may be wondering, what's the difference between these storms?

The answer is, not much. All three are tropical storms simply named differently based on the basin they form in.

Check out our Weather Explained video to learn more.

More on the topic
Colour-coded wind map of the UK and nearby Europe showing widespread orange-red zones with wind speeds labelled 30–40 mph and a wind warning icon in the northwest.
Wednesday, 26 November 2025

Gales on the way

Stormy outlook for Thursday
Split image showing an alpine winter landscape and a European weather map with snow and rain areas.
Monday, 1 December 2025

Winter begins today

Wintry weather only in a few places
Weather map showing a thunderstorm cell and lightning over the east coast of Queensland.
Tuesday, 25 November 2025

Severe thunderstorms

Huge hailstorm hits eastern Australia
All weather news
This might also interest you
Sunday, 24 August 2025

Your weather - Your shots

Mammatus clouds widely spotted
Split weather map showing the UK and Ireland. The left side illustrates strong winds circulating around a low-pressure system, with gusts of 20–30 mph highlighted in orange and yellow. The right side shows radar imagery with widespread blue rain bands and patches of thunderstorms, especially over northern England and Scotland.
Thursday, 28 August 2025

Breakfast brief

Remaining widely unsettled
Friday, 22 August 2025

Breakfast brief

Sunny start for some, overcast later
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList