Tropical Storms, Cyclones and Hurricanes | SERVPRO® of Piscataway

Atlantic Hurricane Season lasts from June through November, because this is the time of year that conditions are favorable for hurricane conditions to form over the Atlantic Ocean. It’s around early summer that we start hearing notifications in the New Jersey area about various kinds of storms forming in the Atlantic, and we have to figure out whether it’s time to board up the windows and evacuate or if we simply need to take standard thunderstorm precautions.

With all the different nomenclature for storm types—is it a hurricane, a tropical cyclone, a depression or what?—it’s easy to be confused about the nature of these storms and the potential damage they may entail. So let’s try and break down the basics and help gain an understanding of what some of these terms indicate.

First Things First: Tropical Cyclones

All Atlantic storms made up of rotating winds are tropical cyclones. Every hurricane, depression or storm falls under the category of tropical cyclone.

The blanket term is used to describe any system of rotating storms and clouds that develops over sub-tropical or tropical waters.Once the right conditions are in place (warmer ocean waters, moist air and light winds), these events are likely to form as elements combine and strengthen.

Tropical Depressions and Storms

The main factor in categorizing tropical cyclones is sustained wind speed, meaning the highest average wind speed over a one-minute period. If a cyclone forms in the Atlantic and its sustained wind speed remains lower than 38 miles per hour, it’s classified as a tropical depression.

If sustained winds rise above 38 but go no higher than 73 mph, the event becomes a tropical storm. (This was the case with Isaias, which took out power for over a million New Jersey residents in 2020 after downgrading from a hurricane to a Tropical Storm after making landfall).]

Hurricanes and Typhoons

If a storm reaches sustained windspeed greater than 74 mph, it becomes what we would call a hurricane. There is also a 5-level categorization of hurricanes based on wind speed and damage causation.

If a tropical cyclone of this speed forms in the Atlantic or Northeast Pacific Ocean, it’s called just that—a hurricane. But if it forms in the Northwest Pacific, it has another name—a typhoon.

Exact same storm, different name. And any storm of this type in the South Pacific or Indian oceans is referred to only as a tropical cyclone, regardless of windspeed.

No matter what you call them, heavy storms can cause serious water damage to homes and businesses. When your place gets soaked by seasonal storms, click or call SERVPRO to get the recovery process handled fast.