After the devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar last weekend, many people are asking what the difference between a cyclone and a hurricane is. The answer is absolutely nothing. Different parts of the world have different names for weather events. What we call a hurricane in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific goes by cyclone in the Indian Ocean. A hurricane in the western Pacific Ocean is called a typhoon. China and Japan are the countries affected by typhoons. Then there is my favorite, the Willy-Willy of Western Australia. What makes it even more confusing is that a Willy-Willy is not just a tropical cyclone but also a whirlwind over a desert in Western Australia. Australians also call Willy-Willy’s a Cocked-Eyed Bob. Confused yet? We know Willy-Willy’s here in the U.S. as dust devils.

Tornadoes also have many names. In the science world they are called a vortex but their commonly known as a twister. A twister over the water is known as a waterspout. Small tornadoes that spin up along the leading edge of thunderstorm, the gust front, are gustnadoes and usually touchdown briefly and cause little damage. Remember, a funnel is not a tornado. A funnel becomes a tornado when it touches the ground.

It can be confusing keeping all the names straight, but one word explains the weather yesterday…miserable. Sorry Mom.