Atlanta Tornado Topped 130 mph, Destroys Buildings and Homes

The Atlanta tornado that ripped through downtown late Friday night tore into several buildings and homes, destroyed lighting fixtures and power lines and ground the SEC Tournament to a halt.

According to the National Weather Service the twisted packed winds of 130 mph as it ripped a hole in the Georgia Dome, blew out windows at the CNN Center,, flooded the Georgia World Congress Center, destroyed much of Centennial Olympic Park and took aim at historic homes in the Cabbagetown district.

By Saturday morning the streets were still littered with broken glass and felled trees that basically made downtown Atlanta appear like a war zone.

The downtown area was packed with people when the tornado ripped through as the 71,000 seat Georgia Dome was playing host to the SEC Tournament with fans from Mississippi State, Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia in attendance.

Next door the Atlanta Hawks were playing the Los Angeles Clippers at Philips Arena when the tornado came through and while there was some damage reported the teams were able to finish the game but fans were encouraged to remain inside while the storm passed.

The SEC Tournament was moved to neighboring Alexander Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.

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