"Hurricanes are tropical systems which are not allied with the earth's major frontal zones, unlike Atlantic lows which rely on the contrasts in temperature, humidity and vertical profiles between two airmasses either side of the polar front."


Shaw if you wish to make corrections please get it right.A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain. Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane typhoon , tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone. A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean, a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, and a cyclone occurs in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean.

In terms of popular terminology the 1987 storm was frequently referred to as the Hurricane that was not going to happen. In terms of windspeed achieved it was a hurricane on the Beaufort scale(storm force 12)
i.e.Hurricane Force (Force 12) is defined as a wind of 64 knots or
more, sustained over a period of at least 10 minutes. Gusts, which are comparatively short-lived (but cause a lot of destruction) are not taken into account. By this definition, Hurricane Force winds occurred locally but were not widespread.