| 1883 Rochester tornado | |
| Damage from the F5 tornado that struck Rochester, MN. | |
| Date: | August 21, 1883 |
| Time: | 5:30 p.m. CDT |
| Rating: | F5 tornado |
| Damages: | $700 thousand |
| Casualties: | 37 |
| Area affected: | Rochester, Minnesota |
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The 1883 Rochester tornado was an F5 (estimated) tornado that hit Rochester, Minnesota on August 21, 1883. It was one in a series of tornadoes that hit Southeast Minnesota that day, causing at least 37 deaths and over 200 injuries, and was the impetus for the creation of the Mayo Clinic.[1] On July 21, two other tornadoes struck the area. An F4 tornado was one of a family of tornadoes that killed 4 people near Dodge Center (15 miles west of Rochester), and an F2 tornado devastated Elgin, 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Rochester.
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According to Joseph Leonard as written in 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. | ” |
Although meteorology in 1883 was primitive compared with modern science, Leonard's observations reveal quite a bit about the atmospheric conditions in Rochester that day. High temperatures, high humidity, strong surface winds, and vertical wind shear appear to have been present; all are key factors in the development of thunderstorms and tornadoes. The Rochester tornado was one of at least 3 violent tornadoes that hit southeastern Minnesota that day, but because the Rochester twister was so devastating, the other two were largely ignored by the press and relatively little is known about them.
The city of Rochester did not have a place to treat the injured from this tornado, as there were only 3 hospitals in the state of Minnesota outside of the Twin Cities at that time; none were near Rochester. After the tornado struck, a dance hall (Rommel Hall) was transformed into temporary emergency room.[4] Doctors William Mayo and his two sons, William and Charles, took charge of caring for the patients. Mother Mary Alfred Moes of the Sisters of St. Francis helped care for the patients as well. After this disaster the Mayo family and the Sisters of St. Francis realized the need of a hospital in Rochester. They banded together to form St. Mary's Hospital, which ultimately led to the creation of the Mayo Clinic and the Tornado Guild, a group dedicated to protecting all Minnesotans from the ravages of the swirling winds.