By Jacob Dalland
It’s not often that Shakopee gets tornadoes. It’s even less often that a tornado strikes the business district, or downtown, of a city. However, on May 21st, 1977, one of the most notable tornadoes in Scott County history struck the heart of Shakopee and left much damage in Shakopee neighborhoods, mostly by destroying trees.
These two photos from Shakopee Valley News show two damage scenes: an uprooted tree (left) and a destroyed storage shed (on right).
The tornado began just north of Heidelburg in Le Sueur County. It tracked northeast from there. The whole track until Shakopee was all through farmland, though the tornado got close to both New Prague and Jordan. That being said, the damage must have been quite minimal in the countryside, for neither the New Prague Times nor the Jordan Independent mentioned any tornado in their next editions.
Shakopee, however, was different. Although no one was killed or even injured, the tornado tore out many trees and ruined a few buildings, sometimes due to toppled trees. The path through Shakopee began roughly where the new Shakopee High School is today and ended at Huber Park on the Minnesota River. There was plenty of damage, but some of the large buildings that were damaged by a previous tornado in 1925 (such as St. Mark’s Catholic Church) were apparently spared this time, despite being affected by both storms.
The tornado uprooted a large portion of trees on Shakopee's streets. Lawns were sometimes pulled up like thick carpets with the trees. Photo from the Shakopee Valley News.
Although the tornado of 1977 was not as strong as the one in 1925, it nonetheless left a noticeable blemish on the streets of Shakopee for years to come. In comparing aerial photographs of Shakopee from 1970 and 1980, you can see the decrease in the number of trees in the image from 1980, 3 years after the tornado hit. You might also notice the expansion of Shakopee’s suburban neighborhoods as well.
Overall, the tornado that struck Shakopee in 1977 might not have been Shakopee’s worst tornado, but it was a memorable one nonetheless. It was the first one to strike downtown Shakopee since 1925, and the last one up to now. The lesson to be learned is: know how to stay safe during severe weather if you live in Shakopee (or anywhere in Scott County, for that matter), for whether you remember a tornado in your lifetime or not, the city of Shakopee remembers.
References:
ArcGIS. “Tornado Paths”. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://www.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=01672085b139432e8fe1296a743f67d7.
Holtz, Kristin. “Are We Tornado Safe?” Shakopee Valley News, April 19, 2012, p. 1.
“ScottGIS3”. Scott County | Minnesota. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://gis.co.scott.mn.us/sg3/.
Shakopee Valley News, May 25, 1977, p. 1.