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Hurricanes are called cyclones in Australia.

Contrary to some misguided opinions, they are not called 'Willy-Willies'.

A 'Willy-Willy' is a dust tornado - sometimes called a 'dust devil' in other parts of the world. They usually occur in dry arid inland locations and can have a strength from a near invisible uplift draft that barely lifts a loose saltbush or tumbleweed bush to a severe type that is very visible (from the dust) and can be quite destructive.

In actual fact, cyclone is the generic name for all forms of the weather phenomenon that includes hurricanes and typhoons. The term cyclones encompasses the clockwise-rotating tropical storm/low of the Pacific and the anti-clockwise equivalent in the Americas and the Asian seas. However, they also have the distinction of being named hurricanes and typhoons respectively to qualify the area of the world in which they have formed.

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10y ago
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13y ago

The real question should be, why do Americans call tropical cyclones hurricanes?

Tropical Cyclone is the scientific name for this low pressure storm system, and it covers both hurricanes and typhoons. Hurricanes and typhoons are simply cyclones in which the winds rotate anti-clockwise, as opposed to clockwise for cyclones.

The word hurricane is believed to come 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, and from there, the phenomena came to be known as "hurricanes" across the Americas.

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14y ago

Tornadoes are still called tornadoes, but the incidence of them occurring in Australia is very low, so this weather phenomena does not get much exposure.

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3y ago

Willie willies

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Q: Why are hurricanes called tropical cyclones in Australia?
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Related questions

Why aren't there hurricanes in Australia?

There are, sort of. The generic term for hurricanes and tropical storms etc. is "tropical cyclone." They are only called hurricanes in the northern hemisphere in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific. In the Australia region they are called cyclones.


Where would a hurricane be called a cyclone?

Hurricanes are called cyclones in the southern hemisphere. However, all hurricanes technically qualify as tropical cyclones.


What are very large tropical cyclones with winds called?

hurricanes


What are cyclones associated with?

Pacific Ocean intense tropical storms are called cyclones. In the Atlantic they are called hurricanes.


What are hurricanes called from around the world?

They are mostly called tropical storms or cyclones.


What are very large tropical cyclones with high winds called?

hurricanes


Why hurricanes will not happen in Indian ocean?

They do, only they're not called hurricanes there. They are called cyclone or very severe tropical cyclones.


What is a cyclone called in Asia?

In the Far East, a hurricane is called a typhoon. Hurricanes and typhoons are types of tropical cyclones. In other regions of the world, such as the Caribbean area or parts of the North Atlantic Ocean, these storms are called hurricanes.


What are hurricanes called in other parts of the world?

In the Pacific they are called typhoons. Generically, hurricanes and typhoons are both tropical cyclones. A tropical cyclone is the generic term for a non-frontal, synoptic scale, low-pressure system over tropical or sub-tropical waters with organized convection (i.e. thunderstorm activity) and definite cyclonic surface wind circulation.


A tropical cyclone in western hemisphere?

Cyclones in the western hemisphere are generally called hurricanes.


Do hurricanes and cyclones form in the tropics?

Hurricanes do, but not all cyclones do. Hurricanes fally into a class of weather phenomenon called a tropical cyclone. There are other types of cyclone, however, including mid-latitude or extratropical cyclones, and polar lows.


Are hurricanes always called hurricanes?

No they are not always called hurricanes. Win the western Pacific they are called typhoons and in the southern Pacific they are called cyclones. The generic term is tropical cyclone.