What is a hurricane called in the Northwest Pacific Ocean?

A hurricane is called a typhoon in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. The terms hurricane, typhoon and cyclone describe the same broad phenomenon: a rotating tropical cyclone with organized thunderstorms and strong winds.

The regional names reflect different forecasting and naming traditions rather than different kinds of storms. In the Atlantic and the northeastern Pacific, the storm is called a hurricane. In the Northwest Pacific, it is a typhoon. In the North Indian Ocean and most of the Southern Hemisphere, it is generally called a tropical cyclone or cyclone.

The Northwest Pacific is the world’s most active tropical-cyclone basin. Storms there are monitored by the Japan Meteorological Agency, while other agencies, including the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, also issue analyses and warnings. A storm’s regional label can change as it crosses basin boundaries, but “typhoon” is the standard term for a hurricane-strength tropical cyclone in this part of the Pacific. Monsoons are seasonal wind systems, tornadoes are much smaller rotating storms, and cyclones is the broader scientific term.