F3 Tornado — Nicollet, Minnesota

1998-03-29 · near Nicollet, Nicollet, Minnesota

Event narrative

Tornado made a direct hit on the city of St. Peter and Gustavius Adolphus College. All major buildings on campus suffered varying degrees of damage. The spire on Christ Chapel snapped in half. 70% of the windows on campus were broken. 500 homes were destroyed in St. Peter, 1,700 were damaged. Over 1,000 trees uprooted. One person killed just outside St. Peter when the tornado struck a vehicle. St. Peter Catholic Church destroyed. Hospital severely damaged. Roof ripped off library. 25% of books lost. Debris from St. Peter found 50 miles away in southern suburbs of the Twin Cities. 60 rural homes and farms damaged or destroyed from Courtland to St. Peter. Rural damage estimated at 6.5 million.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (44.2800, -94.1700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5638761. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.