Hurricanes and tornadoes are both more like natural calamities. Both of them are highly stormy and kind of an atmospheric system. Basically, they are caused because of the insatiable conditions in the atmosphere.
The storms of both calamities are so strong that they hold the potential to cause massive destruction.
The names might depend on the regions and areas of different countries or even continents. Mostly hurricane is called differently in different regions depending on the severity of stormy conditions and the weather.
They are often called typhoons or tropical cyclones.
Key Takeaways
- Hurricanes are large tropical storms that form over warm ocean waters and can cause widespread damage.
- Tornadoes are small but violent weather systems that form over land and can cause localized damage.
- Hurricanes can be much larger than tornadoes and last for days, while tornadoes last only a few minutes.
Hurricane vs Tornado
A hurricane is a large, rotating storm system that forms over warm ocean waters, characterized by high winds, heavy rain, and thunderstorms. A tornado is a rapidly rotating column of air in contact with the Earth’s surface and a cumulonimbus cloud, causing destruction over a smaller area.
Hurricane is basically a cyclone that is categorized as tropical and has a sustained amount of wind that ranges from 74 mph. All of this process that takes place comes along with rain, lightning, and a major amount of thunder.
They are located or occur in the north of the Atlantic Ocean and the northeast Pacific Ocean.
A tornado can be defined as a rotating column of air having a wide range of width that can go from about a few yards to a mile or even more than that. Tornado has a highly destructive speed and is a funnel-shaped facing downward bundle of air.
There is no specific area, region, or continent for the occurrence of a tornado, and it can occur anywhere.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Hurricane | Tornado |
|---|---|---|
| What are they? | Hurricane is basically a cyclone that is categorized into tropical and has a sustained amount of wind that ranges 74 mph. | A tornado can be defined as a rotating column of air having a wide range of width that can go from about a few yards to a mile or even more than that. |
| Locations | North Atlantic ocean, northeast pacific ocean, south pacific ocean, and near the tropical zones. | Tornados have no specific place of occurrence they have been spotted in all continents except for Antarctica. |
| Most affected areas | The Caribbean sea. | Mid-western U.S. |
| Precipitations | Rain | Rain, hail, and sleet. |
| Characteristics | Heavy winds, storms, a lot of rain or even flood, and tornadoes too. | Heavy rain, strong winds, a large amount of hail, lighting-from cloud to the ground. |
What is Hurricane?
Hurricane is basically a cyclone that is categorized as tropical and has a sustained amount of wind that ranges from 74 mph. All of this process that takes place comes along with rain, lightning, and a major amount of thunder.
They are located or occur in the north of the Atlantic Ocean and the northeast Pacific Ocean.
Hurricanes develop over the oceanic water, and they heat the water to over 25 degrees Celcius. Thus, it can be said that they easily weaken in areas where there is land or cold water.
This is because hurricane requires moisture and warmth to sustain, which land and cold water cannot provide. The middle part, or can be said as the pressure centre of the hurricane, is known as the “eye” of the hurricane.
The centre part is the eye is surrounded by strong winds and pressure and is much warmer than the other area and parts of the same hurricane.
What is Tornado?
A tornado can be defined as a rotating column of air having a wide range of width that can go from about a few yards to a mile or even more than that. Tornado has a highly destructive speed and is a funnel-shaped facing downward bundle of air.
There is no specific area, region, or continent for the occurrence of a tornado, and it can occur anywhere.
Tornadoes have many different shapes and sizes. The size of a tornado depends on its intensity. They can also be just a small swirl of dust and winds.
These are quite not easy to identify as tornadoes are often interpreted to be huge waves of storms along with lots of rain and wind. Even the color of a tornado is different in different areas.
The color basically depends on the color of the soil from where it is generated and the debris collected.
Main Differences Between Hurricane and Tornado
- The main difference between a hurricane and a tornado is that Hurricane is basically a cyclone that is categorized as tropical and has a sustained amount of wind that ranges from 74 mph, while a tornado can be defined as a rotating column of air having a wide range of width that can go from about few yards to a mile or even more than that.
- The locations of a hurricane are- The North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast pacific ocean, the south pacific ocean, and the tropical zones. While Tornados have no specific place of occurrence, they have been spotted on all continents except for Antarctica.
- The Caribbean Sea is the most affected area by hurricanes, while for tornadoes, the most affected area is Mid-western U.S.
- The form of precipitation for a hurricane is Rain, while for a tornado its-Rain, hail, and sleet.
- Characteristics of a hurricane include-Heavy winds, storms, a lot of rain or even flood, and tornadoes too, while tornadoes- Heavy rain, strong winds, a large amount of hailing, and lighting from clouds to the ground.
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=JyxRAAAAMAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=what+is+hurricane&ots=uIumMj2WK-&sig=zwiuGEA7igODGIyVQZAalFljCi8
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00431672.1949.9930047
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
