Dear Tom,
I have heard that tornadoes can go over mountains, but I find it hard to believe. Is it true?
Daniel McCullin, Chicago
Dear Daniel,
The occurrences are rare, but tornadoes have crossed mountains–and at very high elevations.
The Teton-Yellowstone Tornado of July 21, 1987, offers probably the most dramatic example of a high-elevation, mountainous-terrain tornado. Occurring with F4 intensity (winds of 207-260 m.p.h.), that spectacular tornado created a damage path 21 miles in length as it tore across Teton County in northwest Wyoming. It took down 1 million trees, mostly mature lodgepole pines, some of them 100 feet in height. And in the process, the tornado crossed the Continental Divide at an elevation of 10,072 feet. Although the tornado injured no one, it still stands as the strongest tornado ever to occur in Wyoming.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
