1883 Rochester tornado
| 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) $24.5 million (2025 USD) |
| Areas affected | Dodge and Olmsted Counties, Minnesota (particularly the city of Rochester) |
Part of the Tornado outbreaks of 1883 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
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, 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.