Ominous clouds spotted ahead of Thursday storms

(FOX 9) - Storms that dropped some rain and brought a little lightning to the Twin Cities on Thursday came with some ominous-looking shelf clouds.

Viewers from Rogers and Coon Rapids in the north metro, all the way out to Hammond, Wisconsin captured photos of the spooky-looking clouds Thursday evening.

While shelf clouds may be worrisome, FOX 9's meteorologist Ian Leonard says shelf clouds aren't necessarily a sign of tornadic storms. Shelf clouds do come as part of strong thunderstorms with broad rotation. But that doesn't always mean you're going to see a tornado. There are other clouds, like wall clouds, that are more frequently associated with stronger storms.

Time-lapse of clouds in St. Louis Park and Eden Prairie

A time-lapse video of stormy weather clouds in St. Louis Park and Eden Prairie on Thursday, Aug. 18, from FOX 9 photographers Doug Solomon and Melissa Martz.

Thursday's storms did bring some rain, lightning, and wind, but no reports of any significant damage. The highest rain totals reported, as of 8:30 p.m., were 0.90 of an inch in Lake Elmo, 0.76 of an inch in South St. Paul, and 0.46 of an inch in Hutchinson.

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Going forward for the evening, rain is expected to lift Thursday night with mostly clear conditions overnight with a chance of a shower.