A question of geography
A cyclone, like a hurricane or typhoon, is a vortex phenomenon, of very low pressure, rotating clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere.
Météo France also gives the same definition for these three weather phenomena: ".. The terms typhoon, hurricane and tropical cyclone all cover the same reality: they all refer to a whirlwind phenomenon in tropical regions (between 30° N and 30° S) accompanied by winds of 64 knots or more, i.e. 118 km/h (i.e. force 12 on the Beaufort scale)"
So why use a term instead of autre?? Because it all depends on the hurricane basin in which they occur. That is to say, depending on where in the world they occur, they do not have the same name.
For example, the cyclone (or tropical cyclone) is used in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. The hurricane is used in the North Atlantic and the Northeast Pacific. Finally, typhoon is a term reserved for the northwest Pacific.
Meteo France
