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Is There Any Difference Between A Typhoon, Hurricane Or Cyclone? And What The Heck Is A Willy-Willy?

KPIX 5 Morning Weather Anchor Roberta Gonzales answers the questions you never get to ask on-air.

Q: Why is the term "typhoon" used near the Asian islands and the term "hurricane" in our area of the world? Thanks so much Roberta! Been watching you for over a decade now!
-Brenda Villanueva Nikolai

A: This is always a fun question to address! It's all about location, location, location! There is actually no difference between a Typhoon, Hurricane, Cyclone or "Willy Willy" which I experienced in Australia! These are all storm systems which develop and brew in tropical oceans. Now, let's get to the LOCATION!

-The term Typhoon is used for storms in the Western Pacific Ocean from the International Dateline toward Asia. But they are referred to as "Megi" in their area.
-From the International Date Line (West of Hawaii) to the West Coasts of the Americas and North of the Equator these storms are Hurricanes. In the Atlantic Ocean north of the Equator they're also called Hurricanes.
-If these types of storms are located in the Indian Ocean they are called Cyclones. Same in the Southern Pacific and Southern Atlantic Ocean.
-Around Australia some will refer to these tropical systems as "Willy-Willy's" but this is not entirely correct. Supposedly, confusion came when European travelers misinterpreted the Aboriginal word for a "small cyclonic circulation." While in Australia, I found most people do refer to tropical storms as "Willy-Willy's".

Fun fact: In the Northern Hemisphere all Hurricanes, Cyclones and Typhoons rotate counter clockwise (same as the water as it flushes in your toilet!), while in the Southern Hemisphere the storms rotate clockwise.

Thank you for your question Brenda!

I would love to hear from you! Please send weather questions, observations and photos to me, Gonzales@kpix.cbs.com and I look forward to hearing from you!

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