Freak hailstorm causes massive destruction in US town

Residents of a US town have likened the noise of a freak hailstorm on Sunday afternoon to a war going on above their heads.

Hail stones of up to 8.25 centimetres in diameter - larger than a cricket ball - smashed through car and house windows in Killdeer, North Dakota.

Among the worst hit were those living in mobile homes on the town's outskirts. The metal structures providing little protection against the fierce storm.

The wind-driven hailstorm was so strong that most of the town's trees were stripped of their leaves and gardens were completely destroyed.

The region's emergency manager, Denis Brew, said the town "looked like a war zone" when authorities went to assess the damage on Monday.

"Any vehicle that was sitting outside was pretty much totalled," Ms Brew told the Dickinson Press.

"Even the law enforcement vehicles. These people are trying to go out and help people, and they can’t even do that because their cars had so much damage.”

Killdeer local Jerry Miller filmed the trail of destruction as it hit his home.

The powerful icy pebbles falling from the sky proved no match for his glass windows - which can be heard shattering in his video.

Tyler Wilson and Casey Eisenberg were taking advantage of warm summer weather and were travelling in their campervan from Colorado when the storm struck.

"It sounded like war out there," Mr Wilson told the Bismarck Tribune.

The couple lay on the floor of their campervan and could hear it coming through the roof of their recreational vehicle.

Road construction worker Hayden Horne was in his work vehicle with a friend at the time the hailstorm hit and was stranded while waiting for it to pass.

"It was hailing so hard, we put jackets on our face because of all the glass. We thought we were goners,” Mr Horne said.

"It was terrifying. When we got out, we were just shaking."

City administrator Dawn Marquardt has estimated the clean-up bill will run into the millions.