Hawaii is on alert for Hurricane Hone, a weak Category 1 hurricane moving south of the state's Big Island.

Hawaii is on alert for Hurricane Hone, a weak Category 1 hurricane moving south of the state’s Big Island.

    • baldingpudenda@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      TIL

      …it is then classified as a hurricane, typhoon, or tropical cyclone, depending upon where the storm originates in the world. In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, the term hurricane is used. The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon. Meanwhile, in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, the generic term tropical cyclone is used, regardless of the strength of the wind associated with the weather system

      source

      • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        2 months ago

        In other words, the Pacific is so wide that cyclones typically curl North before making it all the way across, so it’s unlikely that the same storm would affect both North America/Hawaii and East Asia. Therefore, it’s not necessary to force anybody to give up the name they previously picked.

        (The word “hurricane” came from the Arawak people in the Caribbean, while the etymology of “typhoon” is less clear but may have come from China or India. Also, for completeness: “cyclone” is of Greek origin and is used for southern hemisphere storms because the British picked it in the 1800s.)