Funnel cloud do not become tornadoes. Also, a tornado does not necessarily need to have an associated condensation funnel. If strong cyclonic winds are occurring at the surface (and connected to a cloud base, regardless of condensation), then the feature is a tornado. Some tornadoes may appear only as a debris swirl, with no obvious funnel cloud extending below the rotating cloud base. In cloud nomenclature, any funnel- or inverted-funnel-shaped cloud descending from cumulus or cumulonimbus clouds is technically described as an accessory feature called "tuba". The terms "tuba" and "funnel cloud" are nearly but not exactly synonymous; a wall cloud, for
Wall cloud within the leading edge (typically of a quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) or squall line) on rare occasion. The wall cloud feature was first identified by Ted Fujita and as associated with tornadoes in tornadic storms following a detailed site investigation of the 1957 Fargo tornado. In the special case of a supercell thunderstorm, but also occasionally with intense multicellular thunderstorms such as the aforementioned QLCS, the wall cloud will often be seen to be rotating. A rotating wall cloud is the area of the thunderstorm that is most likely to produce tornadoes, and the vast majority of intense tornadoes. Tornadogenesis