1886 Sauk Rapids tornado
Encyclopedia
| 1886 Sauk Rapids Tornado | |
| Date of tornado: | April 14, 1886 |
| Time: | 4:00 p.m. CST |
| Rating of tornado: | F4 Fujita scale The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation... tornado |
| Damages: | $400,000 |
| Fatalities: | 72 killed, 200+ injured |
| Area affected: | Central Minnesota Central Minnesota Central Minnesota is the name of the region consisting of the central portion of the state of Minnesota. Although no specific boundaries of the region exist, most definitions of what makes up the region would generally consist of the vast swath of land north of Interstate 94, east of U.S. Highway... , United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
The 1886 Sauk Rapids Tornado was a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
that tore through the cities of Sauk Rapids
Sauk Rapids, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,213 people, 3,921 households, and 2,599 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,234.1 people per square mile . There were 4,017 housing units at an average density of 878.7 per square mile...
, St. Cloud
St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...
, and Rice
Rice, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 711 people, 247 households, and 185 families residing in the city. The population density was 118.8 people per square mile . There were 250 housing units at an average density of 41.8 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 98.87% White, 0.70% Native...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
on April 14, 1886. It destroyed much of the town of Sauk Rapids and killed 72 people along its path. It is Minnesota's deadliest tornado on record. Other tornadoes on this day occurred in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
suggesting the possibility of a large outbreak
Tornado outbreak
While there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...
.
Tornado
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
intensity cut through the heart of Sauk Rapids. It was one of at least four tornadoes that affected the region between 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. that day. It had a maximum width of 1/2 mile (0.8 km) and was on the ground for 14 miles (22 km). As the storm moved across the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
it temporarily sucked it dry. Some of the structures the tornado destroyed included an iron truss bridge
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
spanning the Mississippi River, the post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, courthouse
Courthouse
A courthouse is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English speaking countries, buildings which house courts of law are simply...
, a flour mill, a school, and two churches. Fifteen rail cars were demolished, and iron rails from the train track were pulled up and mangled. After it passed through Sauk Rapids it moved on to Rice where it killed 11 people in a wedding party when the home they were in was destroyed. In all, 72 people were killed by the twister, including 38 in Sauk Rapids and 20 in St. Cloud
St. Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 65,842 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Stearns County...
. Over 200 more were injured.
Relief efforts
St. Benedict's Hospital in St. Cloud, which had been spared by the tornado, became the center of relief efforts following the destruction. The BenedictineOrder of Saint Benedict
The Order of Saint Benedict is a Roman Catholic religious order of independent monastic communities that observe the Rule of St. Benedict. Within the order, each individual community maintains its own autonomy, while the organization as a whole exists to represent their mutual interests...
nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s who operated the hospital worked 48 hours straight until aid arrived from nearby towns and Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
and St. Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. Over 50 patients were taken to St. Mary's school and convent in nearby St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,681 people, 1,120 households, and 712 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,517.4 people per square mile . There were 1,147 housing units at an average density of 616.8 per square mile...
where the teaching sisters served as nurses.
Impact
Before this tornado, Sauk Rapids was considered one of the most important towns in Minnesota and a business center of central Minnesota. It was a blossoming community located on the Mississippi River in Central Minnesota. However the tornado changed the economic structure of the entire area after it destroyed at least 109 commercial or public buildings in Sauk Rapids alone, including every business on main street, causing over $400,000 (1886 dollars) in damages. Today, this would mean more than 40,000,000 US dollars. After the tornado, St. Cloud became the dominant business center in the region.See also
- Climate of MinnesotaClimate of MinnesotaThe climate of Minnesota is typical of a continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. Minnesota's location in the Upper Midwest allows it to experience some of the widest variety of weather in the United States, with each of the four seasons having its own distinct characteristics...
- List of Minnesota weather records
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks