Hurricanes and tornadoes are both spinning storms. They are very different. A tornado is a column of air. It spins very fast. It reaches from a thunderstorm cloud down to the ground. The clouds and winds of a hurricane spin around in a circle. They spin faster and faster as the storm grows. Let us see how the two compare.

Look at a tornado. The funnel you see is made of tiny water droplets. It hangs down from the bottom of the thunderstorm. A funnel cloud hangs from a storm cloud. It does not touch the ground. If it touches the ground, it is a tornado.

A tornado is small. It can be only a hundred yards across. Some are a few hundred yards across. Most tornadoes last only a few minutes on the ground. The average is about five minutes.

Where do tornadoes happen? Tornadoes can happen anywhere. They can happen at any time. Tornado Alley is a nickname. It is an area of the central United States. Tornadoes are more common there. It is not a clearly marked place. Tornadoes happen in many parts of the world.

Now look at a hurricane. It is a kind of storm called a tropical cyclone. It forms over tropical or subtropical waters. It needs very warm ocean water. That water must be at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit. A hurricane has a calm, clear center called the eye. A ring of thunderstorms surrounds the eye. It is called the eyewall. The winds are strongest there.

A storm is a hurricane when its winds reach 74 miles per hour. Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same kind of storm. They have different names. In the western North Pacific they are called typhoons. In the South Pacific and Indian Ocean they are called cyclones.

How do experts rate a storm? The two storms are rated in different ways. Let us look at each one. The Saffir-Simpson scale rates hurricanes from 1 to 5. It uses only the highest steady wind speed. The Enhanced Fujita Scale rates a tornado. It looks at the damage the tornado causes. Its wind speeds are estimates based on that damage.

Forecasters watch storms from above and from inside. As of November 2026, NOAA Hurricane Hunter crews fly airplanes into storms. They fly even through the eyewall. They gather information for forecasters. Their planes drop small probes. The probes send back readings of pressure, humidity, temperature and wind.

A tornado watch means tornadoes are possible in and near an area. It usually lasts four to six hours. A tornado warning is different. It means a tornado has been seen or shown by radar. People in the area should go to shelter right away. Trained storm spotters tell the National Weather Service what they see.

When there is a tornado warning, a family goes to a basement or an inside room with no windows. Big open rooms such as gyms and cafeterias are not the best places. When a hurricane is coming, listen to the grown-ups and officials in charge. A family may not be told to leave. Then a safe place is a small inside room, closet or hallway on the lowest level.

Words to know

• funnel: spinning cone
• eyewall: storm ring
• typhoons: Pacific hurricanes
• probes: small tools
• forecasters: weather watchers

The short version

A tornado is a column of air that spins very fast and reaches from a thunderstorm cloud down to the ground. A hurricane is a kind of storm called a tropical cyclone that forms over warm ocean water. A hurricane has a calm, clear center called the eye.

Quick facts

• A tornado can be only a hundred yards to a few hundred yards across.
• Most tornadoes last only a few minutes on the ground; the average is about five minutes.
• A storm is called a hurricane when its maximum sustained winds reach 74 miles per hour.
• Hurricanes need very warm ocean water, at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit, to form.