颶風和颱風的區別是什麼?

The only difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is the location where the storm occurs.
颶風和颱風之間的唯一區別就是風暴發生的位置不同。

A close-up satellite image of Hurricane Isabel taken on Sept. 15, 2003. The National Ocean Service helps coastal communities prepare for and recover from major coastal storms such as hurricanes.
2003年9月15日，颶風伊莎貝爾拍攝的特寫衛星圖像。美國國家海洋局幫助沿海地區爲颶風等主要沿海風暴做準備和恢復。

Hurricanes and typhoons are the same weather phenomenon: tropical cyclones. A tropical cyclone is a generic term used by meteorologists to describe a rotating, organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters and has closed, low-level circulation.
颶風和颱風是同一種天氣現象：熱帶氣旋。熱帶氣旋是氣象學家用來描述一個有規律旋轉着的雲團和雷暴氣象系統的通用術語。它們形成於熱帶或亞熱帶水域，且具有封閉的低水平環流。

The weakest tropical cyclones are called tropical depressions. If a depression intensifies such that its maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour, the tropical cyclone becomes a tropical storm. Once a tropical cyclone reaches maximum sustained winds of 74 miles per hour or higher, it is then classified as a hurricane, typhoon, or tropical cyclone, depending upon where the storm originates in the world.
最弱的熱帶氣旋被稱爲熱帶低氣壓。如果低氣壓區增強，使其最大持續風速達到每小時39英里（約爲63公里），則熱帶氣旋將成爲熱帶風暴。一旦熱帶氣旋達到每小時74英里（約119公里）或更高的最大持續風速，它就會被歸類爲颶風、颱風或熱帶氣旋，名稱具體取決於風暴形成於世界上哪塊地區。

In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, the term hurricane is used. The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific is called a typhoon. Meanwhile, in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, the generic term tropical cyclone is used, regardless of the strength of the wind associated with the weather system.
在北大西洋、北太平洋中部和北太平洋東部，就使用“颶風”一詞。而發源於西北太平洋的同類氣象擾動則被稱爲“颱風“。同時，如果是在南太平洋和印度洋，則使用通用術語“熱帶氣旋”，無論與天氣系統相關的風的強度如何。

The ingredients for tropical cyclones include a pre-existing weather disturbance, warm tropical oceans, moisture, and relatively light winds. If the right conditions persist long enough, they can combine to produce the violent winds, incredible waves, torrential rains, and floods we associate with this phenomenon.
熱帶氣旋的成分包括預先存在的氣象干擾、溫暖的熱帶海洋、水汽和相對較弱的風。如果這樣合適的條件持續足夠長的時間，它們就會結合起來產生狂風巨浪、暴雨以及與這類現象相關的洪水。

At times, when a weather system does not meet all of these conditions, but is forecast to bring tropical storm or hurricane force winds to land in the next day or two, it is called a potential tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin and the central and eastern North Pacific basins.
有時候，雖然天氣系統暫時不能滿足所有這些條件，但預計在未來一兩天內將形成熱帶風暴或颶風登陸內陸，這種氣象就被稱爲“潛在熱帶氣旋”，一般出現在大西洋盆地和中部以及北太平洋東部盆地。

In the Atlantic, hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 30. Ninety-seven percent of tropical cyclone activity occurs during this time period. However, there is nothing magical about these dates. Hurricanes can and do occur outside of this six month period.
在大西洋，颶風季節從6月1日正式開始，一直延續到到11月30日。有97％的熱帶氣旋活動都發生在這段時間內。然而，這些日期並沒什麼特殊的。在這六個月之外，颶風可以而且的確會發生。