| F5 tornado | |
|---|---|
 Damage from the F5 tornado that struck Rochester, Minnesota | |
| Formed | August 21, 1883, 6:30 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Dissipated | August 21, 1883 9:30 p.m. CDT (UTC−05:00) |
| Max. rating1 | F5 tornado |
| Fatalities | ≥ 37 deaths, ≥ 200 injuries |
| Damage | $700,000 (1887 USD)[nb 1] $23.7 million (2024 USD) |
| Areas affected | Dodge and Olmsted Counties, Minnesota (particularly the city of Rochester) |
Part of the tornadoes and tornado outbreaks of 1883 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
On August 21, 1883, a devastating tornado affected southeastern portions—the Driftless Area—of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The massive tornado, retrospectively estimated to have been an F5 on the modern Fujita scale,[nb 2] 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.[6][7]
Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Grazulis, Thomas P. (July 1993). Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events. St. Johnsbury, Vermont: The Tornado Project of Environmental Films. p. 141. ISBN 1-879362-03-1.
- ^ Grazulis, Thomas P. (2001). The Tornado: Nature's Ultimate Windstorm. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-8061-3538-0.
- ^ Edwards, Roger (5 March 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ Grazulis 1993, p. 623
- ^ "Rochester Tornado Aug 21 1883". La Crosse, WI Weather Forecast Office. La Crosse, Wisconsin: National Weather Service. Retrieved 4 January 2021.