WATCH: All hail breaks loose in Hilton
A hailstorm hit Hilton near Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday afternoon.
Videos on social media show cars being pelted by what residents describe as golf ball-sized hail.
The storm struck after the South African Weather Service issued three weather alerts for severe thunderstorms, including an Orange Level 5 warning for parts of northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Motorist Trevor Viljoen was caught in the storm on the N3 in Hilton and recorded video from his bakkie. He says it got dark quickly, and then the hail began to fall.
Viljoen says he could feel it pounding against his vehicle.
"We thought it was just rain, then all of a sudden there was one block of hail, and then it just started getting worse. It lasted for about 15 minutes, but it was seriously 15 minutes of terror. Hail, as I have never seen before. We had no time to even take shelter or hide the van. It was insane," says Viljoen.
The Road Traffic Inspectorate’s Sindi Msimang says fallen trees have since been cleared from the N3 — and the route is open to traffic.
"There is a backlog of traffic, but it is moving."
KZN disaster management teams are on high alert.
Trevor Viljoen, who captured this footage, says the N3 was hammered by golf-ball sized hail. pic.twitter.com/TYKT3TUOHZ
— ECR_Newswatch (@ECR_Newswatch) December 2, 2025
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