1919 Fergus Falls tornado
Encyclopedia
| 1919 Fergus Falls tornado | |
| Date of tornado: | June 22, 1919 |
| Time: | 4:46 p.m. |
| Rating of tornado: | F5 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: | $4 million (1919 USD) |
| Fatalities: | 57 |
| 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... |
The 1919 Fergus Falls tornado was a large and destructive 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 struck Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Fergus Falls is a city in and the county seat of Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,138 at the 2010 census.-Today:...
on June 22, 1919. It killed 57 people and is the second deadliest tornado in 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...
's history. This tornado occurred just 10 months after a tornado in Tyler, Minnesota
Tyler, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,218 people, 532 households, and 338 families residing in the city. The population density was 632.8 people per square mile . There were 577 housing units at an average density of 299.8 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 97.78% White, 0.49%...
killed 36 people. That twister was Minnesota's fourth deadliest on record.
The tornado
The tornado had a path of 20 miles (32 km), and at times was 400 yards (366 m) wide. It hit Fergus Falls at approximately 4:46 p.m., and according to witness accounts was a "blank funnel shaped twisting cloud, or possibly several of themMultiple vortex tornado
A multiple-vortex tornado is a tornado that contains several vortices rotating around, inside of, and as part of the main vortex. These multiple vortices are somewhat similar to eyewall mesovortices found in intense tropical cyclones...
". Though the Fujita scale did not exist at that time, it is estimated to have been an F5 based on descriptions and photographs of the damage.
Damage
The tornado tore through the northern part of town, leveling 44 city blocks (including the business district), destroying 159 homes and damaging 250 more. Of the 57 people that died, at least 35 of them were in the Grand Hotel, a three story, 100 room hotel. Two hundred more were injured. The Otter Tail CountyOtter Tail County, Minnesota
Otter Tail County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 57,303. Its county seat is Fergus Falls.-History:...
courthouse, county jail, four churches and the Northern Pacific
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
rail depot were destroyed. The Great Northern Oriental Limited passenger train was thrown off the tracks by the tornado, but none of the 250 passengers on the train was seriously injured. Checks
Cheque
A cheque is a document/instrument See the negotiable cow—itself a fictional story—for discussions of cheques written on unusual surfaces. that orders a payment of money from a bank account...
that were sucked up by the tornado in Fergus Falls were found 60 miles to the east.
See also
- 1918 Tyler tornado1918 Tyler tornadoThe 1918 Tyler tornado was a large and destructive tornado that devastated the town of Tyler, Minnesota on August 21, 1918. The F4-estimated tornado hit the town at approximately 9:20 pm, killing 36 people and injuring over 100 others. Debris from Tyler was found up to away...
- 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 F5 and EF5 tornadoes
- List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks