1883 Rochester tornado

Windstorm in Minnesota, United States May 2025 February 2025 1883 Rochester tornado infobox 1/2 300 Rochester tornado damage 1883.jpg 1883 Rochester Tornado NWS Track.png 300 Top: Damage to residential areas of Rochester following the tornado Bottom: The official track of the Rochester tornado 3 hours August 21, 1883 August 21, 1883, 6:30 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) August 21, 1883 9:30 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) F5 F5 equiv. tornado >260 mph (418 km/h) ≥ 37 ≥ 200 $700,000 (1887 USD)nb Losses All losses are in 1965 USD unless otherwise noted.$US 700000 1887 -4 (US USD) Dodge and Olmsted Counties, Minnesota (particularly the city of Rochester) Tornado outbreaks of 1883 On August 21, 1883, a violent and devastating tornado affected southeastern portions of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The massive tornado, retrospectively estimated to have been an F5 on the modern Fujita scale,nb Fujita The Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.Grazulis Thomas P. Thomas P. Grazulis Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events July 1993 The Tornado Project of Environmental Films St. Johnsbury, Vermont 1-879362-03-1 141 Grazulis Thomas P. Thomas P. Grazulis The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm https://archive.org/details/tornadonaturesul0000graz registration 2001 University of Oklahoma Press Norman 978-0-8061-3538-0 131 While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,Edwards Roger Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/ef-scale.html The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC) Storm Prediction Center 25 February 2016 5 March 2015 Canada utilized the old scale until April 1, 2013;Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale) https://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=41E875DA-1 Environment and Climate Change Canada 25 February 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220706/http://www.ec.gc.ca/meteo-weather/default.asp?lang=En&n=41E875DA-1 3 March 2016 6 June 2013 dead nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.The International Tornado Intensity Scale http://www.torro.org.uk/tscale.php Tornado and Storm Research Organisation 25 February 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160305120332/http://www.torro.org.uk/tscale.php 5 March 2016 2016 dead caused at least 37 deaths and over 200 injuries. The tornado was part of a tornado family, a series of tornadoes produced by a supercell, that included at least two significant tornadoes across Southeast Minnesota on August 21. A third significant tornado occurred two hours before the main event hit Rochester. The Rochester tornado indirectly led to the formation of Saint Mary's Hospital, now part of the Mayo Clinic. The tornado closely followed destructive tornadoes a month earlier in the same area: on July 21, two significant, deadly tornadoes hit the area, including an F4 tornado family that killed four people in Dodge and Olmsted Counties, especially near Dodge Center.Grazulis 1993 623Rochester Tornado Aug 21 1883 https://www.weather.gov/arx/aug211883 La Crosse, WI Weather Forecast Office National Weather Service 4 January 2021 La Crosse, Wisconsin Meteorological synopsis On the morning of August 21, a mid-latitude, deepening low-pressure center moved east-northeastward toward Minnesota, crossing the state during the afternoon and evening. The following morning, the cyclone had already deepened to at most 29.42 inHg mb on, suggesting a robust system on the preceding day. At the time, surface weather data from the Upper Mississippi Valley were sparse, but nearby observations in the afternoon indicated high temperatures in the middle 80s to low 90s °F. Eyewitnesses reported very humid conditions, indicating ample moisture for thunderstorms to develop.Weather Conditions on August 21 1883 https://www.weather.gov/arx/aug211883weather La Crosse, WI Weather Forecast Office National Weather Service 4 January 2021 La Crosse, Wisconsin As author Joseph Leonard mentioned in the History of Olmsted County, Minnesota, At Rochester the day had been hot with a strong southeast wind, the air was smoky and oppressive, the heavens were overcast with clouds of a dull leaden line, and there were, apparently, three strata, all moving in different directions.Leonard Joseph Alexander History of Olmsted County, Minnesota 1910 Goodspeed Historical Association Chicago 143 Although meteorology in 1883 was primitive compared with modern science, Leonard's observations and other weather reports reveal quite a bit about the atmospheric conditions in Southeastern Minnesota on August 21. High temperatures, sufficient humidity, strong surface winds, and vertical wind shear appear to have all been present—all of which are key factors in the development of tornadoes. Tornado Summary By 4:00 p.m. CDT (21:00 UTC), light rain began falling over the area, and at 4:30 p.m. CDT (21:30 UTC), a thunderstorm spawned an F3 tornado about 10 mi km on south of Rochester, near Pleasant Grove. The tornado killed two people, injured ten others, and damaged at least four farmsteads, one of which it destroyed. After the passage of the storm, conditions briefly improved. At about 6:00 p.m. CDT (23:00 UTC), residents of Rochester noticed a "low bank of cloud"—a thunderstorm—southwest of the city. Few residents were alarmed, but the storm rapidly grew in size and intensity as time passed.U.S. Weather Bureau Winds Monthly Weather Review August 1883 11 8 187 10.1175/1520-0493(1883)11[187:N]2.0.CO;2 USWB 1883 American Meteorological Society Boston free August 22, 1883 Minnesota's Blow: More Details of the Great Cyclone Oshkosh Northwestern Oshkosh, Wisconsin The Rochester tornado first touched down at about 6:30 p.m. CDT (23:30 UTC), approximately 4 mi km on northwest of Hayfield in Dodge County. The tornado damaged farmsteads in Westfield, Hayfield, Ashland, Vernon, and Canisteo townships. In all, the tornado passed through 40 farms across Dodge County, at least 10 of which it razed, killing five or more people.Correspondence Tuesday's Tornado https://www.weather.gov/media/arx/Aug211883/08241883.pdf 4 January 2021 Winona Daily Republican 23 August 1883 Dodge Center, Minnesota Winona, Minnesota 2 As it entered Olmsted County, the tornado obliterated farmhouses, outbuildings, and machinery in Salem Township, causing one death.Special dispatch Another Appalling Cyclone https://www.weather.gov/media/arx/Aug211883/08221883.pdf 4 January 2021 Winona Daily Republican 22 August 1883 Rochester, Minnesota Winona, Minnesota 2 The tornado continued to destroy structures on farms in Kalmar, Cascade, and Rochester townships before entering the city of Rochester itself. Heavy rainfall preceded the tornado. Just after 7:00 p.m. CDT (00:00 UTC), skies in Rochester assumed a greenish tint, and a rumbling sound became audible. The "roar" of the tornado gave many residents advance warning. "Dense darkness" enveloped the city as the tornado struck. In just five minutes, the tornado passed through the north side of Rochester, causing devastating damage. The northern third of Rochester was devastated, with 135 homes destroyed and 200 damaged. The tornado also caused extensive damage to a 1 mi km mid -wide swath that extended 10 mi km on eastward from Rochester.Leonard 1910 144More Details on the August 21, 1883 Tornadoes https://www.weather.gov/arx/aug211883tornadoes La Crosse, WI Weather Forecast Office National Weather Service 4 January 2021 La Crosse, Wisconsin At 9:30 p.m. CDT (02:00 UTC), a final tornado, given an F3 rating upon retrospective review, killed one person and injured 19 others near St. Charles and Lewiston in Winona County. 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3 "FU" denotes unclassified but confirmed tornadoes. Impact, aftermath, and recovery thumb|341x341px|Damage in Rochester, MN after the tornado The city of Rochester did not have a place to treat the injured from this tornado, as all but three of Minnesota's hospitals were located in Minneapolis–Saint Paul at that time, and none of the remainder was sited near Rochester. Following the tornado, a dance hall in Rochester, Rommel Hall, served as a makeshift emergency room. Local doctors assumed responsibility for the patients' wellbeing under the direction of Rochester Mayor Samuel Whitten; Mother Mary Alfred Moes of the Sisters of St. Francis cared for the patients. Subsequently, the Sisters of St. Francis established St. Mary's Hospital, which ultimately yielded the Mayo Clinic and later the Tornado Guild, the latter of which was dedicated to tornado preparedness.Winds of Change: An Improvised Hospital Mayo Clinic - Tradition and Heritage Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research http://www.mayoclinic.org/tradition-heritage/winds-change.html 22 December 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20070122165958/http://www.mayoclinic.org/tradition-heritage/winds-change.html 22 January 2007 See also Climate of Minnesota List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes Lists of tornadoes and tornado outbreaks List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks Notes nb References 2 Category:F5, EF5 and IF5 tornadoes 1883-08 Tornado 1883-08 Rochester Tornado, 08 Category:Tornadoes in Minnesota Tornado, 08 Tornado, 08 Tornado, Rochester