There are several differences between cyclones, tornadoes, puting beliung, and water spouts which are included in atmospheric vortices. However, the diameter size of tornadoes, puting beliung, and water spouts both ranges from hundreds of meters, while the diameter size of a cyclone can reach damage of kilometers.
Tornadoes occur on land, while tropical cyclones over the vast ocean. Tropical cyclones entering the land will weaken and then die. Puting beliung is a local designation for small-scale tornadoes that occur in Indonesia, and Water Spout is a tornado that occurs above the waters, (can be either lakes or sea).
The difference between Cyclones and Tornadoes can be seen in the following table :
| Criteria | Cyclone | Tornado |
| Growth area | At sea, generally above latitude 10 degrees north and south | On land. Tornadoes that occur in the watersare called water spout |
| Direction of motion | For cyclones in the southern hemisphere, the earth generally moves west or southwest, whereas for cyclones in the earth the northern hemisphere generally moves west or northwest. | The direction of the movement depends on the direction of the motion of the storm thunderstorm. |
| Diameter size | Hundreds of kilometers. | hundreds of meters. |
| The length of his life | 1 – 30 days, with an average of 3 – 8 days. | 3 minutes to more than one hour. |
Tropical Cyclones, Tropical Storms, Hurricane & Typhoon
Tropical storms are another word for tropical cyclones. Hurricane is the term for tropical cyclones in the South Pacific Ocean, Northeast Pacific Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean which has a maximum wind speed of more than 64 knots (119 km / h). While typhoon or hurricane is a hurricane that occurs in the Northwest Pacific Ocean.