a severe tropical cyclone originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, traveling north, northwest, or northeast from its point of origin, and usually involving heavy rains and has surface wind speeds greater than 74 miles (or 119 kilometers) per hour.

Similar storms in different parts of the globe are referred to by different terms:

• typhoon- in the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the International Dateline
• severe tropical cyclone - in the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E
• severe cyclonic storm - in the North Indian Ocean
• tropical cyclone - in the Southwest Indian Ocean