Teton Canyon wind event confirmed as a tornado

JACKSON (WNE) — The National Weather Service has classified a severe wind event that toppled hundreds of trees in Teton Canyon as a tornado.

The storm occurred at 1:35 p.m. on Oct. 15 and was on the ground for two minutes. Its path was about 1 mile long and 125 yards across, and it damaged trees at altitudes between 6,900 and 7,900 feet.

It was the third recorded tornado in Teton County’s history and the least severe of the three, with winds maxing out at just over 100 mph.

A 1987 tornado, known as the Teton-Yellowstone Tornado, had winds over 200 mph.

The Weather Service analyzed aerial images from the Teton County Sheriff’s Office to determine whether the wind event was a tornado or a microburst, as well as to assess the severity of the storm and the peak wind speed.

The tornado left about 30 hikers stranded at the Mill Creek trailhead for several hours, as Teton Canyon Road was blocked by fallen trees. A Caribou-Targhee National Forest fire crew, exempt from the ongoing federal shutdown, rescued the hikers.

Tornadoes are generally associated with severe summer weather. It’s atypical to get a thunderstorm in the fall that’s powerful enough to generate a tornado, when there’s less heat and convection.

“I don’t think many people were expecting in mid-October hiking in Teton Canyon that there was going to be a thunderstorm and high wind event like that,” said Rich Ochs, the county’s emergency management coordinator.

“Can a tornado happen? Yes,” Ochs said, “Are we going to tell people to build tornado shelters in Teton County? No, it’s just not worth it.”

This story was published on Nov. 3, 2025.