Eyewitness: Tornado 'seemed to go on and on'

Matt Ament captured this video of the tornado bearing down on his neighborhood.

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LA PLATA, Maryland (CNN) -- The most powerful tornado ever recorded in Maryland killed four people Sunday and left a trail of destruction La Plata's mayor called "a war zone." Matt Ament documented the tornado with his video camera from his La Plata home. He discussed the tape and the twister with CNN's Bill Hemmer Monday afternoon.

AMENT: We were out shooting basketball and could see different sets of clouds going in different directions. Then over the tree line came the huge mass of debris swirling around. So we just watched that and the winds picked up. And there was a loud, rumbling noise, and we got inside the garage a little bit. I wanted to stay out there and get as much footage as I can. And then the tornado seemed to turn and head a different direction, so we stayed out there and that's when the hail came.

CNN: Back up a little bit. You say the debris, you saw that. Did you see that before you saw the funnel cloud?

AMENT: We didn't actually see a strong funnel. It's a huge mass just kind of swirling around and that's all it was. It was a big black mass and that's -- just debris and I couldn't even tell you what it was that was flying around, sheets of metal and ...

CNN NewsPass VIDEO Watch the video of the tornado and Bill Hemmer's interview with Matt Ament (April 29) Play video

CNN: Matt, did you think that storm was ever going to take a turn and head toward you?

AMENT: No. We ... were close enough to get it on tape but far enough away to get cover if we had to.

CNN: How much damage was done to your neighborhood?

AMENT: Most of the damage up here in this part of the neighborhood was from hail, to cars and the siding. But here at the back of the neighborhood, some of the houses were damaged a little more extensively.

CNN: Yes. And based on the tape that we're watching that we picked up from your camera, it doesn't appear that the tornado at that point is very well formed. Would you agree with that?

AMENT: Yes. Certainly.

CNN: Was it later then, where it came together or was it ...

AMENT: That was just minutes after it hit La Plata. I guess you might have shown coverage of what it did downtown. This was just minutes after that.

CNN: Ever seen a tornado, Matt?

AMENT: No. I grew up in Colorado, but never saw one. Saw enough warnings, but not a tornado.

CNN: So often the sound is described to us. Describe what you heard.

AMENT: Before we could actually see anything, it was lightning and thundering and we thought it was just a rolling thunder, but it seemed to go on and on. And then, you know, then we saw it come over the tree line. It was just a loud, rumbling -- just a loud constant rumbling. You could hear the wind being sucked into the tornado.

CNN: And that hail is huge as it hits the ground. Hey, Matt, thanks for sharing your story and your videotape, too, OK.

AMENT: You bet.

CNN: And good to know that you and your family are all right.

AMENT: The whole community is going to be OK.