Why are they called tropical storms?

Answer 1

The word hurricane comes from an old Spanish word, huracan, the word indigenous inhabitants of Spain used to refer to evil spirits and the weather gods. They were the first to use this word to specifically relate to the violent storms that sank Spanish ships in the Caribbean.

It is possible that the word actually originated from the Mayan culture. In Mayan mythology, Huracan is the name of the god of storm. He was generally considered to be more like the winds and the storms themselves. In the Mayan language, his name means "one legged". The word hurricane is derived from Huracan's name.

Answer 2

Aside from the name, not much is different. Both are severe tropical systems that have wind speeds greater than 74 mph.

They are called "hurricanes" in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean. But once your go west across the International Dateline and into the western Pacific Ocean, they're called typhoons.

Typhoons generally tend to be stronger than hurricanes, but only because there's warmer water in the western Pacific and are better conditions for storm development.

Answer 3

The word hurricane comes from the Taino Indian word hurakan, meaning "big wind."

Answer 4

Because they occur in the tropics, i.e. the area between the Tropic Of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.