What is the difference between a hurricane, a tornado, a cyclone and a whirlwind?
Eric Clinton, New York, USA It s a matter of intensity and size. The smallest are whirlwinds (`twisters ), with air circulating around a core of low pressure. They cover a small area but rise more than 1,000ft. Tornadoes are larger and more powerful, often 300ft wide with winds up to 250 mph. They re often associated with thunderstorms. Cyclones are larger still, causing bad weather across hundreds of miles. The most destructive are at the end of the hot season in the Pacific, particularly the Bay of Bengal and the China Sea, where they are known as typhoons, and across the West Indies, where they are known as hurricanes.
