What are the differences among twisters, typhoons, cyclones, whirlwinds, gales, hurricanes and tornadoes?
This is an excellent question and I answer a lot of these kinds of questions from those of you who are interested in meteorology. Just a day or so ago I answered a similar question concerning tornadoes and hurricanes this way: “good question. These two phenomena are vastly different. About the only commonality is their cyclonic flow and their destructive nature. The tornado forms in very unstable air with warm moist air flowing from the south near the surface and with dry and strong westerly flow at higher altitudes. They form out of existing cumulonimbus clouds without very much warning time and last only less than an hour. Hurricanes form in the tropics generally between 10 and 15 degrees north latitude. They form when monsoonal winds (southwesterly winds) develop south of the trade winds (easterlies). This provides the trigger for cyclonic circulation. The surface temperature must be > or equal to 28C and there must be very little shear (large changes in wind direction or speed with
