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Chester, Minnesota

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1935 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Marion Township. It lies in ZIP code area 55904. The Survey maps it on the Chester quadrangle.

Chester within Olmsted County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

2 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Chester between 1994 and 2000, burning under an acre in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
3 May 2000Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 April 1994Smokingunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Olmsted County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Chester: 3 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Rochester Sand & Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
T H 82 South QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Walsh Quarry & MillStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Olmsted County

Storms near this place

14 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chester in 14 storm reports between 1999 and 2023: 10 hail, 2 tornado, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2017HailChester$310,000Golfball sized hail was reported in Chester.
July 2017Tornado (EF1)Chester$40,000An EF-1 tornado touched down southeast of Rochester and produced intermittent damage as it moved east through Chester Woods Park. Extensive tree damage occurred along parts of the short path in the wooded areas of the park. The park superintendent estimated between 4 and 10 acres of trees were flattened in the park. Near the park's beach, downed trees landed on the beach house and a fence.
August 1999HailChester$30,000no account filed
May 2013LightningChester$25,000Lightning struck a house on the southeast side of Rochester causing a fire in the attic. The fire was quickly put out but extensive damage was done to the roof and attic.
March 2005Thunderstorm WindChester$5,000no account filed
June 2017Tornado (EF0)Chester$3,000An EF-0 tornado touched down in Chester Woods Park east of Chester and then traveled northeast for about a half mile. The tornado did some minor tree damage along its path.
July 2023HailChester-Public reported quarter sized hail near Chester.
May 2022HailChester-Quarter sized hail was reported east of Rochester.
May 2017HailChester-Walnut sized hail was reported near Chester.
May 2017HailChester-Quarter sized hail was reported in Chester.
June 2017HailChester-Walnut sized hail was reported just outside of Chester.
June 2017HailChester-Half dollar sized hail was reported west of Chester.
May 2010HailChester-Winds from the thunderstorms were estimated to be between 40 and 50 mph and were strong enough to move around some patio furniture.
May 2014HailChester-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Olmsted County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Marion4.4 miles9
Oak Terrace Estates4.5 miles18
Predmore4.8 miles9
Viola5.6 miles15
Eyota6.3 miles9
Rocky Creek Estates6.4 miles18
Golden Hill6.6 miles10
Simpson6.7 miles10

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 641148. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.