A tornado caused widespread damage across downtown Atlanta , including to the CNN Center and to the Georgia Dome , where the 2008 SEC Men 's Basketball Tournament was postponed . Other buildings that were damaged include the Georgia World Congress Center , Philips Arena ( during an Atlanta Hawks game ) , and the Omni Hotel , which was evacuated after many windows were blown out . The Westin Peachtree Plaza suffered major window damage . The image of the building with all the windows blown out became famous and , for a time , was the symbol of the tornado . Centennial Olympic Park , SunTrust Plaza and historic Oakland Cemetery were also damaged
2008 SEC Men 's Basketball Tournament
2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament
2008 Atlanta tornado outbreak