1886 Sauk Rapids tornado
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The Sauk Rapids courthouse in ruins
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| Formed | April 14, 1886 4:00 p.m. CST |
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| Max rating1 | F4 tornado |
| Damage | $400,000 |
| Casualties | 72 fatalities, 200+ injuries |
| Areas affected | Central Minnesota, United States |
| 1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale | |
The 1886 Sauk Rapids Tornado was a violent tornado that tore through the cities of Sauk Rapids, St. Cloud, and Rice, Minnesota 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, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas suggesting the possibility of a large outbreak.
Tornado
At 4:00 p.m. a tornado of approximately F4 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).[1] As the storm moved across the Mississippi River it temporarily sucked it dry.[1] Some of the structures the tornado destroyed included an iron truss bridge spanning the Mississippi River, the post office, courthouse, a flour mill, a school, and two churches.[1] Fifteen rail cars were demolished, and iron rails from the train track were pulled up and mangled.[2] 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. 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 Benedictine nuns who operated the hospital worked 48 hours straight until aid arrived from nearby towns and Minneapolis and St. Paul. Over 50 patients were taken to St. Mary's school and convent in nearby St. Joseph where the teaching sisters served as nurses.[3]
Impact
Before this tornado, Sauk Rapids was considered one of the most important towns in Minnesota and a business center of central Minnesota.[4][5] 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.[5][6] After the tornado, St. Cloud became the dominant business center in the region.
See also
- Climate of Minnesota
- List of Minnesota weather records
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
References
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External links
- Images of America: Benton County and Sauk Rapids, Copyright 2002 Ronald C. Zurek, ISBN 0-7385-1960-X, Arcadia Publishing.
- gendisasters.com
- "IN RUINS," Minneapolis Tribune newspaper account of the disaster
- Cyclone Image from the Saint Benedict's Monastery Collection in Vivarium the Digital Image Collection of the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University
- Section of With Lamps Burning discussing the cyclone from the book With Lamps Burning, an early history of the Saint Benedict's Monastery, by Grace McDonald. Made available online by the College of Saint Benedict Archives.
