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Hurricane vs typhoon: what's the difference?
A hurricane and a typhoon are the same kind of storm: the general name is tropical cyclone. It draws its heat from warm water at the ocean's surface. Once its steady winds reach 74 mph, it gets a new name.
The name depends on where it forms: a hurricane in the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific, a typhoon in the northwest Pacific, and a cyclone in the Indian Ocean and near Australia. Same storm, different ocean. Next: how does a hybrid car work?
About this film
A 42-second widescreen (16:9) explainer film, made in the Nature documentary style, published on 28 October 2026.
Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm; only the ocean it forms in changes the name.
The style: Nature documentary. Photoreal, shallow depth of field, natural light.
Scene by scene
- 0:00Two storms side by side: hurricane vs typhoon?
- 0:03Same storm; the general name is tropical cyclone
- 0:09It draws its heat from warm ocean water
- 0:13At 74 mph steady winds it gets a new name
- 0:18Hurricane, typhoon, cyclone: same storm, different ocean
- 0:36Next: how does a hybrid car work?
Transcript
Hurricane vs typhoon: what's the difference? They're the same kind of storm. The general name is tropical cyclone. It draws its heat from warm water at the ocean's surface. Once its steady winds reach seventy-four miles an hour, it gets a new name. The name depends on where it forms. In the Atlantic and the eastern Pacific, it's a hurricane.
In the northwest Pacific, it's a typhoon. In the Indian Ocean and near Australia, it's a cyclone. Same storm, different ocean. Next: how does a hybrid car work? Follow for more explainers, or make your own at explain.film.
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