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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves recovering from significant flooding following Tempest Claudia delivered heavy rain and strong winds over the past seven days.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This weather system developed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had beforehand caused unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern sectors of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States in early November.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, trapped within a trough of an increasingly amplified atmospheric river.

Effects in Iberia

Galicia in north-west Spain was hit first, with 80-150mm of rain falling along its west coast in just one full day up to Wednesday night as a slow-moving band of rain drifted across western parts of the region.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday brought flooding to parts of Portugal where a senior pair perished in the capital Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they were asleep.

Stormy conditions persisted into the weekend, with a twister ripping through a outdoor lodging area and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on the weekend's Saturday, killing an elderly British lady and harming two dozen and eight persons.

Extended Consequences across the European continent

This system triggered more extensive impacts across Europe's western part. By siphoning heated air from the warmer regions, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in France's south-west to 29.8C (85.6F), the country's highest recorded November temperature.

By last Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a cold air mass across the northern regions of Europe, generating a band of rain extending from Ireland's west to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this stationary front of rain brought record-breaking rain accumulations, causing major inundations in the Welsh region.

As Claudia continues to weaken in the coming days, the frigid air will advance southward, providing the continent its first taste of colder weather.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California, USA

California experienced a so-called atmospheric river last week, bringing torrential rain and high-velocity gusts that led to sudden inundations and mudslides in areas impacted by wildfires earlier this year.

Over two inches of rain fell in the southern region of the state on the week's end, with a additional two inches broadly over the state on the subsequent Saturday.

More than 100mm of rain accumulated over shoreline regions of the state's south in aggregate, attaining 200mm overall in areas of elevated terrain.

This meteorological feature is a concentrated stream of hot, humid air coming from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena suffered the worst of the rapid inundations and landslides, leading to evacuations.

Across California, a elderly male died after his vehicle was carried away from a flooded bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her father were swept into the Pacific by powerful waves on the Central Coast.