A small tornado swept through Tauranga this afternoon ripping branches off trees, smashing windows and leaving debris on the streets.
Strong wind gusts through the Tauranga CBD caused a large branch from a tree outside the Bay of Plenty Polytech to puncture through a neighbouring building.
Tauranga fire shift commander Scott Osmond said there has been reports of roofs damaged by strong winds in Tauranga, Mount Maunganui and Papamoa.
The small tornado was enough to tear panelling off the Noel Leeming building in the CBD which only just missed parked vehicles.
A reporter at The Strand said windows were smashed and branches were strewn along the road.
