What is the difference between a hurricane and a tornado?

I would say the biggest difference between the two is that with a hurricane you get very strong straight winds.....with a tornado you get rotating winds. The wind speeds in a hurricane can be higher than those in tornado and can cause a lot of damage. A hurricane is a little more predictable than a tornado.....we sometimes get days notice that one is getting ready to hit.....were with a tornado it may be only seconds. they are definately not the same....that's why they are given different names.

A hurricane is a very large, very destructive storm that forms over warm waters. A tornado is a short lived wind event that occurs from a thunderstorm cell. While they both have incredible winds, a tornado is over in a matter of a minute or two. a hurricane can rage on over you for hours and hours on end. While hurricanes often have tornado warnings posted with them, its not an actual tornadic event, but the winds are equivalent to those found in tornados. Hope this helps some.