How are hurricanes and tornadoes different?
Storm Showdown
How are hurricanes and tornadoes different?
Both hurricanes and tornadoes are spinning storms that can rip roofs off houses and toss cars around like toys. They both have winds that spiral inward toward a calm center. So what makes them different? Almost everything else — from where they're born to how big they grow to how long they last.
First, size. A hurricane is enormous — often 300 miles wide, big enough to swallow several states at once. A tornado is tiny by comparison, usually less than a quarter-mile across. If a hurricane were a dining table, a tornado would be a dinner plate sitting on top of it.
