It looked like the enormous mothership from pre-slap but post-Fresh Prince era Will Smith's summer blockbuster Independence Day arrived over Toronto on Friday, with social media posts showing a menacing wall of cloud that blackened skies over the city in the morning hours.

Photos began to appear on Twitter just after 10 a.m., showing a single large cloud rolling in over Lake Ontario and bearing down on the city.

The mothership is going to be revealed in 3…2…1 https://t.co/jt3ODgst9a pic.twitter.com/tVM9cPigai

— Maltese Petard 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ (@shawnmicallef) October 14, 2022

Known as a "shelf cloud" or "arcus cloud," these systems mark the leading edge of a weather system and make for some spectacularly surreal views of dark skies in the middle of the day.

pic.twitter.com/F8YdgSG8Ho

— Surfacingpoint (@surfacingpoint) October 14, 2022

For a brief period, the city was darkened by the dense shelf cloud.

Those clouds do not look friendly. Dollarama can wait. 😬#Toronto #rainyseason pic.twitter.com/GZxTWv0rj2

— 🇨🇦 Call Me Rain 🇨🇦❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 (@RainArtChik) October 14, 2022

Some of the shots posted to Twitter look borderline apocalyptic, but despite the menacing cloud, the ensuing system was actually rather light compared to the violent summer storms the city was experiencing just weeks ago.

Cloud shelf https://t.co/vprR73B6lm pic.twitter.com/4q67MfPYzR

— Rochelle 'Ricky' Goldman (@rickygyyz) October 14, 2022

It's hard to believe these views weren't accompanied by other telltale signs of a serious storm.

Toronto. Storm clouds heading my way. Could actually see the rain getting closer. Still hard to believe this is a lake, not a sea or ocean. It’s just massive. #lakeontario #greatlakes #canada #toronto #Ontario #storm pic.twitter.com/DCfZrf6Cbn

— My Morning View (@shaunstaveley) October 14, 2022

Wider views from elevated positions, like one series of photos captured from the Mount Pleasant and Eglinton area, show the system dumping rain on the city as the system moved east like a dark curtain.

Fascinating storm shelf rolling in over Lake Ontario just now! #Toronto #onstorm pic.twitter.com/t2fpzTCXc8

— Jocelyn Kervin (@jkervs) October 14, 2022

In the end, the storm eased off almost as quickly as it moved in with a lot more bark than bite, though scattered showers persist across the city, and you can expect soggy conditions to continue for most of the next week.