(August 11, 1999) -- A massive storm front hit the Salt Lake Valley at approximately 1:00pm Wednesday afternoon causing severe destruction and injury in the down town Salt Lake City area. The worst destruction was in the 300 West area near the Delta Center and the Triad Center. Homes in the upper avenues area of Salt Lake were also destroyed.

One person died and at least 49 others were hospitalized.

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A quick-striking tornado touched down in the downtown area early Wednesday afternoon, causing an undetermined amount of damage. There were dozens of injuries.

The black funnel cloud uprooted trees and temporary buildings set up for a retailers convention close to 1 pm.

It also damaged the roof of the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz and the Wyndham Hotel where windows were blown out.

The downtown area looked like a disaster zone with trucks overturned, power lines down, windows blown out and shards of glass everywhere.

Police and fire-fighters attended to dozens of wounded people.

Helicopters landed in city streets to ferry the injured to hospitals.

One person was confirmed dead by the mayor's office.

National Weather Service meteorologist David Hogan says the tornado was classified as a low-end F-2, with winds over 100 miles-per-hour.

The streets became littered with shredded tents from the outdoor retailer show at the Salt Palace, which was evacuated because of a gas leak.

At the time, it was not known how many people, if any, were trapped beneath the collapsed tent.

Thousands of people witnessed this devastating storm. Many of the KSL crews were out working on other stories when they said the sky turned very dark--tinged with green. Then it was obvious a tornado was on the move.

As it gained momentum around fifth West and 100 South and roared toward the Delta Center the destruction was just starting.

The twister snapped power poles like toothpicks, blew out windows in the Delta Center and many other buildings downtown. It tore through the massive tent of the Outdoor retailers show. The storm tossed trucks and cars around like they were toys and shattered windows in hundreds of vehicles.

The extent of the damage in a downtown nine to ten block area is devastating. The extent of the injuries is staggering. Hundreds of cars are damaged--many destroyed. Buildings are badly damaged and there will need to be extensive work on power lines and gas lines. It packed a powerful punch.

Disaster, was narrowly averted when the tornado swept across the site of the new LDS Assembly Building snapping the boom, on a massive construction crane. About a thousand people were working on the new building when the storm struck.