# 1886 St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids tornado outbreak

On April 14–15, 1886, a destructive tornado outbreak affected portions of the Midwestern and Southern United States. The outbreak generated at least 18 tornadoes, four of which were violent, including the St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids tornado, an F4 tornado that tore through the cities of St. Cloud, Sauk Rapids, and Rice, Minnesota, on April 14, destroying much of the town of Sauk Rapids and killing 72 people along its path. It is the deadliest tornado on record in Minnesota. Other tornadoes occurred in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas on the same day, suggesting the possibility of a large outbreak. In all, the entire outbreak killed at least 87 people and injured at least 324.

## Confirmed tornadoes

The ratings for these tornadoes were done by tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis and are not official ratings.
Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating :
| FU | F0 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | F5 | Total |
| ? | ? | ? | 10 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 18 |

### April 14 event

Confirmed tornadoes – Wednesday, April 14, 1886 :
| F# | Location | County / Parish | State | Time (UTC) | Path length | Max. width | Summary |
| F2 | Shubert | Richardson | NE | 21:00–? | 5 miles (8.0 km) | 100 yards (91 m) | 1 death – Tornado injured 10 people and destroyed or damaged three or more homes. |
| F2 | Lake Reno to Lake Mary | Pope, Douglas | MN | 21:00–? | 9 miles (14 km) | Un­known | Tornado destroyed or damaged six barns on five farmsteads. A few homes lost their roofs or tipped onto their sides. |
| F4 | S of Griswold to NNE of Coon Rapids | Cass, Audubon, Guthrie, Carroll | IA | 21:00–? | 55 miles (89 km) | 400 yards (370 m) | 3 deaths – Long-tracked tornado family destroyed or damaged 70 farmhouses, several of which were swept clean of debris, leaving only foundations behind. Hundreds of cattle were killed and a train was thrown off its tracks. Tornado also destroyed 32 structures in Coon Rapids, nine of which were homes. 18 injuries were reported along the path and losses were estimated at $100,000. |
| F4 | SSW of St. Cloud to Sauk Rapids to SSE of Rice | Stearns, Benton | MN | 22:20–? | 25 miles (40 km) | 800 yards (730 m) | 72 deaths – See section on this tornado – 213 people were injured and losses totaled $400,000. |
| F2 | ESE of Oneida | Nemaha | KS | 22:30–? | 3 miles (4.8 km) | 200 yards (180 m) | Tornado injured four children and destroyed several homes. |
| F2 | E of Hubbard to E of Park Rapids | Hubbard | MN | 22:30–? | 10 miles (16 km) | 200 yards (180 m) | Tornado injured seven people, downed hundreds of trees, unroofed a few farmhouses, and destroyed a number of barns. As the tornado crossed Long Lake it tossed water 100 ft (30 m) high. |
| F4 | SW of Little Rock to SW of Buckman | Benton, Morrison | MN | 22:50–? | 14 miles (23 km) | 200 yards (180 m) | 2 deaths – Tornado formed from the same supercell as the St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids F4. Two entire farms were obliterated and seven people were injured. "Tons" of debris from St. Cloud littered the landscape. |
| F2 | E of Story City | Story | IA | 23:00–? | 3 miles (4.8 km) | 70 yards (64 m) | Tornado caused one injury and unroofed or partly destroyed three homes, one of which lost its upper story. Several barns were destroyed as well. |
| F2 | N of Circleville to E of Wetmore | Jackson, Nemaha | KS | 23:30–? | 7 miles (11 km) | 50 yards (46 m) | Tornado injured four people and destroyed four homes, along with stables and barns. |
| F2 | NW of Churdan | Greene | IA | 00:00–? | Un­known | Un­known | Tornado destroyed several barns. |
| F3 | Lickskillet to Strahan to Wheeler Grove | Fremont, Mills, Montgomery, Pottawattamie | IA | 00:15–? | 45 miles (72 km) | 100 yards (91 m) | Long-tracked tornado family destroyed at least 15 homes. Tornado began south of Thurman and passed west of Sidney. Near Sidney a school was destroyed and scattered for 2 mi (3.2 km). At Strahan the tornado destroyed a church and a store. Five homes, a church, and several other structures were damaged or destroyed in Wheeler Grove. Five injuries occurred along the path. |
| F4 | N of Mound City to Burlington Junction | Holt, Nodaway | MO | 01:30–? | 15 miles (24 km) | 300 yards (270 m) | 6 deaths – Tornado destroyed structures on 15 farmsteads, including four homes that were leveled. 20 injuries were reported. |
| F3 | NW of Bedford to Prescott | Taylor, Adams | IA | 01:45–? | 20 miles (32 km) | 200 yards (180 m) | Tornado injured 15 people and destroyed several homes, leaving only scattered pieces of lumber behind. |
| F2 | Blodgett | Scott | MO | 03:00–? | Un­known | Un­known | 3 deaths – Tornado injured two people and destroyed three farmhouses. |
| F2 | W of Orient to E of Greenfield | Adair | IA | 03:00–? | 5 miles (8.0 km) | 100 yards (91 m) | Tornado injured two people and destroyed three farmhouses. |
| F3 | S of Rhome | Wise, Denton | TX | 03:45–? | 15 miles (24 km) | 300 yards (270 m) | Tornado produced possible F4–F5 damage to five farmsteads, but little information was available with which to assign a rating higher than F3. 13 injuries were reported along the path, and total losses reached $100,000. One death may have occurred. |
| F3 | SW of Terrell | Kaufman | TX | 04:00–? | 4 miles (6.4 km) | 200 yards (180 m) | Farms were obliterated, possibly at F4 intensity, but information was insufficient with which to assign a rating higher than F3. |

### April 15 event

Confirmed tornadoes – Thursday, April 15, 1886 :
| F# | Location | County / Parish | State | Time (UTC) | Path length | Max. width | Summary |
| F2 | Island Ford | Rutherford | NC | 23:00–? | 5 miles (8.0 km) | Un­known | Tornado injured five people and destroyed a few homes. |

### St. Cloud–Sauk Rapids, Minnesota

At 4:20 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 mi (0.80 km) and covered an area of 14 mi (23 km). As the storm moved across the Mississippi River, it temporarily sucked the river dry. Some of the structures the tornado destroyed included an iron truss bridge spanning the Mississippi River, the post office, the courthouse, a flour mill, a school, and two churches. 15 railcars were demolished, and iron rails from the train track were pulled up and mangled. After passing through Sauk Rapids, the tornado moved on to Rice, where it killed 11 people in a wedding party, including the groom, when the home they were occupying 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.

## Impact, aftermath, and recovery

St. Benedict's Hospital in St. Cloud, which was 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 the nearby towns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Over 50 patients were taken to St. Mary's school and convent in St. Joseph, where the teaching sisters served as nurses.
Before the tornado struck, Sauk Rapids was considered one of the most important towns in Minnesota and a center of business for central Minnesota. It was a blossoming community located on the Mississippi River. However, the tornado changed the economic structure of the entire area, destroying at least 109 commercial and public buildings in Sauk Rapids alone, including every business on Main Street, and causing over $400,000 ($13,564,000 in 2025) in damages. After the tornado, St. Cloud became the dominant business center in the region.