In terms of potential for destruction, hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the world's most violent storms. If the winds reach 118kmh then they are redefined as hurricanes or typhoons, depending on location.
Tropical storms are the only natural disasters with their own names.
Until 1978, they were given women's names, but then US weather forecasters bowed to political correctness and agreed to alternate them with men's names. Tropical cyclones need a warm layer of ocean water and an unstable atmosphere to develop. Cool ocean winds at low pressure force hot, humid air high into the atmosphere forming a column. Moisture is forced up the column which condenses and releases latent heat energy, the primary source of fuel for tropical cyclones. At the centre is a calm sunlit eye, measuring tens of kilometres across.