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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves dealing with the consequences of significant inundation in the wake of Tempest Claudia brought heavy rain and strong winds the previous week.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

This meteorological event originated from an area of low pressure that had previously driven unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern sectors of Canada and the American north-east during the beginning of the eleventh month.

Claudia tracked eastwards across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, caught in the trough of an increasingly amplified atmospheric river.

Effects in Iberia

Galicia in north-west Spain was hit first, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain coming down along its west coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday night as a slow-moving band of rain drifted across the western areas of the region.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday led to floods to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple perished in the capital Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they were asleep.

Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a tornado devastating a campsite and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the Algarve region on the weekend's Saturday, claiming the life of an 85-year-old British woman and injuring 28 people.

Extended Consequences across the European continent

The storm produced wider effects across the western European nations. By drawing warm air from the subtropical zones, the system assisted in raising temperatures in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the nation's all-time high autumn 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 running from western Ireland to Russia.

In the Britain, this stationary front of rain brought record-breaking rain accumulations, leading to severe flooding in Wales.

As this weather phenomenon continues to weaken in the coming days, the chilly atmospheric system will advance southward, providing the continent its first taste of the winter season.

Related Incidents in California, USA

California experienced a plume of tropical moisture the previous week, delivering torrential rain and strong winds that resulted in sudden inundations and landslides in zones scarred by blazes previously in the year.

More than 50mm of rain was recorded in southern California on the week's end, with a further 50mm widely across the state on Saturday last.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain fell over coastal areas of Southern CA in aggregate, attaining 200mm overall in areas of elevated terrain.

Such a weather system is a concentrated stream of hot, humid air stemming from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

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

Elsewhere in California, a 71-year-old man passed away after his vehicle was washed off a submerged bridge, and a child of seven years and her parent were pulled into the Pacific by powerful waves on the the state's central shoreline.