According to Joseph Leonard as written in History of Olmsted County, Minnesota, 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 all been present, and 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 first tornado touched down at 3:30 PM just south of Rochester near Pleasant Grove. This tornado was approximated at an F3, and it killed 2 people and injured 10.
The second tornado was the large F5 that made a direct hit on Rochester. It touched down at 5:30 PM near Hayfield, traveling before lifting back up after it hit Rochester. It killed 37 and injured over 200, mostly in Rochester. Forty farms were hit and at least 10 were leveled, some with homes swept away. A metal railroad trestle was completely destroyed, and a wooden plank was driven through the trunk of a tree. The northern third of Rochester was devastated, with 135 homes destroyed and 200 damaged.
The third tornado, approximated at an F3, touched down at 8:30 PM just to the east of Rochester near St. Charles. It killed 1 person and injured 19.
Impact
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, the meeting room in a commercial building downtown was transformed into a temporary hospital. One of the businesses on the main floor of Rommel Hall was Johnson's Funeral Parlor, which like all undertakers in Rochester was called into duty as a temporary morgue. 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.
