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Portugal and Spain are once more dealing with the consequences of extensive inundation in the wake of Tempest Claudia unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts the previous week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This weather system formed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had earlier caused early season freezing temperatures and snowfall through the eastern sectors of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern US at the start of November.

This storm journeyed east across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian region, trapped within a trough of an progressively more wavy atmospheric river.

Impact on Spain and Portugal

Galicia in north-west Spain was initially impacted, with 80-150mm of rain pouring down along its west coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday night as a sluggish front of rain crawled across the western areas of the region.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on Thursday last week caused inundations to Portuguese localities where an elderly couple perished in the capital Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they rested.

Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a camping ground and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in the Algarve region on the weekend's Saturday, claiming the life of an elderly British lady and harming 28 people.

Wider Effects across the European continent

This system triggered more extensive impacts across western Europe. By drawing warm air from the warmer regions, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in southwestern France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the country's highest recorded autumn temperature.

By the following Friday, this warm and humid air mass met a cold air mass across the northern regions of Europe, generating a rainfall belt extending from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this halting system of rain produced exceptionally large precipitation amounts, resulting in severe flooding in Wales.

As Claudia loses strength at the start of the week, the cold air mass will push south, delivering to Europe its initial glimpse of colder weather.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California

The US state of California underwent a plume of tropical moisture last week, bringing heavy rain and high-velocity gusts that resulted in sudden inundations and debris flows in zones affected by blazes previously in the year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain was recorded in the southern region of the state on last Friday, with a another 50 millimetres widely across the state on the subsequent Saturday.

Over four inches of rain accumulated over shoreline regions of Southern CA in aggregate, attaining a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

Such a weather system is a concentrated stream of hot, humid air coming from the tropics or subtropics.

Locations with fire damage including the Pacific Palisades area and the town of Altadena endured the worst of the flash flooding and mudslides, leading to evacuations.

Across California, a elderly male passed away after his car was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her parent were pulled into the Pacific by large waves on the the state's central shoreline.