Hail-producing thunderstorms pelted part of central Indiana Friday morning, a precursor to more serious severe weather expected later in the day.A dangerous weather situation is unfolding across Indiana and several other states on Friday as a potent storm system pushes through the region.

Up to golf ball-sized hail was reported in a line of storms that moved into Indianapolis around 11 a.m., prompting numerous storm warnings along the line. Pea-sized hail fell in downtown Indianapolis, but larger hail fell southwest and south of downtown and in some counties west of the city.The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center has placed a large part of Indiana and other states to the south and east in a moderate risk zone for severe weather through the evening as a secondary line of thunderstorms approaches.Far southern Indiana, near the Louisville area, is in a high risk for severe weather, with the rest of the state in a slight risk zone.Strong winds, large hail and tornadoes, some of them strong and long-tracked, are expected.

The moderate risk zone is generally along and south of a line from Terre Haute to Muncie.A tornado watch is in effect for much of the southern half of the area through the early afternoon. The Storm Prediction Center labeled the watch as a "particularly dangerous situation," meaning the risk is heightened for violent tornadoes.Additional watches are expected to be posted throughout the day.

A few scattered thunderstorms moved through central Indiana early in the morning, some with small hail, but those storms were not severe."The chance of tornadoes and a little more significant severe weather will be across the southern half of the state throughout the afternoon hours," said Storm Team 6 meteorologist Todd Klaassen.Storms are possible through early evening across the entire region, with large hail the main threat in earlier storms.The tornado and damaging wind threat will increase as a warm front pushes through and ahead of a cold front that will swing through the region later.This is a particularly volatile spring-like storm system, with a forecast in many ways worse than a few days ago, when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes killed 13 people.

Listen to 93 WIBC on your radio or phone or watch RTV6 and Storm Team 6 for the latest severe weather information.