It's so big.

它超大的。

They're calling it a "super typhoon."

人們稱它為「超級颱風」。

Hey everyone, Trace here for DNews, answering a long-held question in a lot of people's minds: "What's the difference between a hurricane and a typhoon?"

大家好，我是來自 DNews 的 Trace，為你們解答存在於人們心中已久的問題：「颱風和颶風到底差在哪裡？」

We hear both words a lot.

兩個詞我們都很常聽見。

They're both storms that get names.

他們都是有名字的風暴。

The super typhoon hitting Asia right now (2013) is named Haiyan or Yolanda, by the way.

現在 (2013) 正在侵襲亞洲的颱風名叫「海燕」或者「尤蘭沓」，順帶一提。

The main difference between a hurricane and a typhoon, believe it or not, is simply where the storm occurs.

颶風和颱風之間最主要的差別，信不信由你，其實只差在它們在哪裡形成的。

According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), hurricanes form in the northern Atlantic, north eastern Pacific and South Pacific.

根據國家海洋和大氣管理局表示，颶風發生於北大西洋、太平洋東北邊和南太平洋。

Typhoons form in the northwestern Pacific specifically.

颱風只形成於太平洋西北邊。

There are also cyclones, I forgot all about them, which form in the southwest Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.

另外還有氣旋，我幾乎忘記它們了，形成於太平洋西南邊和印度洋。

Science likes naming things, and they're very thorough.

科學很喜歡幫東西取名字，還取得很詳細。

Basically there are three names for the same big spinning storms.

基本上就是這種很大一直轉的風暴有三種名字。

And one cool fact, the word hurricane comes from the name of one of the Mayan gods, Huracan, who helped create the world.

還有一件很酷的小知識，「颶風」hurricane 取名自瑪雅神話中的 Huracan，一位幫助創造世界的神。

No big deal.

大概是這樣。

Other than location, is there anything unique about each type of storm?

除了地點之外，每種風暴還有什麼獨特的地方嗎？

Not really.

不怎麼有。

All three storms share humble beginnings as tropical storms.

三種風暴都有作為熱帶風暴這樣不起眼的開端。

Each begin over warm oceans where there are high levels of air moisture and wind.

都在溫暖的海洋上方，有高濃度的濕氣和空氣流動的地方形成。

If the right conditions persist, then these spinning storms will grow.

如果適宜的環境持續，這些旋轉風暴就會長大。

And when they reach sustained internal wind speeds of 74 miles [119 kilometers] an hour, they can bring torrential rain, flooding and all the other hallmarks of a big storm like that.

如果它們內側風速達到持續每小時 74 英里 (約 119 km/hr)，就可以帶來暴雨、淹水還有各種其他一個大風暴該有的特點。

The location of the typhoon, cyclone or hurricane determines the direction it spins.

颱風、氣旋和颶風發生的地點決定了它們旋轉的方向。

Just being a typhoon doesn't mean it will spin in a specific direction.

是一個颱風並不代表他會往特定方向旋轉。

Same with a hurricane, storms can spin either way.

颶風也同理，這些風暴要轉哪個方向都可以。

All storms forming in the northern hemisphere spin counterclockwise, while those forming in the southern hemisphere spin clockwise, easy-peasy.

所有風暴在北半球形成的都是逆時針旋轉，而在南半球形成的都是順時針旋轉，簡單吧？

So what about this super storm thing?

那這個超級風暴到底是什麼呢？

We just had one in the U.S. last year (2012) with hurricane Sandy that became superstorm Sandy, and now Asia has a super too.

我們去年 (2012) 才有一個變成超級颶風的颶風 Sandy 侵襲美國，現在亞洲也有了一個超級版的。

Are those the same thing?

它們是一樣的東西嗎？

Not at all.

一點都不一樣。

I spoke with Dennis Feltgen at the National Hurricane Center, and in the U.S. the super storm moniker is completely made up by the media.

我與國家颶風中心的 Dennis Feltgen 聊了這件事，在美國「超級颶風」這個稱號完全是媒體炒作出來的。

However, the super typhoon?

那「超級颱風」呢？

That's a real science thing.

這是真的有科學依據的。

It's a ranking that's done on that side of the world, and it means a sustained surface wind of at least 150 miles [241 kilometers] an hour, high-end is sustaining at 195 [314 kilometers per hour] with gusts up to 235 [378 km/h].

在世界另一邊有一個分級制度，「超級颱風」定義為風暴持續風速達至少每小時 150 英里 (約 241 km/hr) 高至每小時 195 英里 (314 km/hr)，上升氣流達到每小時 235 英里 (約 379 km/hr)。

Holy crap!

老天鵝啊！

In the Atlantic where hurricanes live, they typically appear from June to November, and there are maybe a dozen a year.

在颶風出現的大西洋，颶風一般會在六月到十一月之間出現，一年大概出現十幾個。

But the Pacific typhoon, that can happen anywhere from May to December and there may be as many as 30 in a year.

但在太平洋的颱風，它們在五月到十二月之間隨時都有可能會出現，而且一年至多會出現 30 個。

We track storms around the world over at DiscoveryNews.com, so check out the storm tracker for more information.

我們在 DiscoveryNews.com 上追蹤全世界的風暴，去這個網站查看關於風暴的更多資訊。

And make sure you visit a disaster relief charity, because your help is going to be needed soon.

且務必去參觀災害紓困中心，因為你的援助可能很快就需要用到。

Thanks lot for watching DNews today.

謝謝收看今天的 DNews。