Photos were snapped of what some described as "the strangest cloud" they have ever seen in Auburn, Ala., on Thursday.

The strangest cloud I've ever seen @spann http://pic.twitter.com/X4HLbCMFLauren Lewis

@spann Clouds over Auburn http://pic.twitter.com/rQHk4GvtAndrew

Auburn this afternoon... RT @lewisle: @spann here's my favorite shot of the clouds http://twitter.com/lewisle/status/198126079070834688/photo/1 #alwxJames Spann 

The pictures above are of a shelf cloud. These types of clouds often form at the leading edge of a gust front or outflow boundary from a thunderstorm.

The NWS says, "The shelf cloud is attached to the base of the parent cloud above it (usually a thunderstorm). Rising cloud motion often can be seen in the leading (outer) part of the shelf cloud, while the underside often appears turbulent, boiling, and wind-torn."

Locally torrential downpours and thunderstorms were spreading across Alabama on Thursday.

"Part of the same disturbance that brought downpours to South Florida in recent days is now rolling in from the Gulf of Mexico into Alabama and portions of Mississippi, the Florida Panhandle, Tennessee and Louisiana," AccuWeather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said.

@spann Wedowee! We are having MASSIVE rain/thunder/lightening. Water pouring thru awnings. http://pic.twitter.com/W8g7nwOfDonna Phillips

Just a few days ago, a video from Kentucky captured another well-defined shelf cloud.

Nice Shelf Clouddoppler881