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Portugal and Spain are once more dealing with the consequences of significant inundation in the wake of Tempest Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

The Storm's Origin and Path

The storm system originated from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had previously ushered in early season chilly and snowy weather through eastern parts of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States during the beginning of the eleventh month.

This storm journeyed east across the Atlantic in the middle of the second week of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Iberian region, snared in a dip of an increasingly amplified atmospheric river.

Impact on Iberia

Galicia in north-west Spain was the first affected, with 80-150mm of rain falling along its western coastline in just 24 hours up to Wednesday evening as a sluggish front of rain pushed across western parts of the Iberian peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday led to floods to parts of Portugal where an older couple died in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they rested.

Tempestuous weather lasted through the weekend, with a tornado tearing through a outdoor lodging area and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in southern Portugal on Saturday, fatally injuring an elderly British lady and wounding 28 people.

Wider Effects across the European continent

This system triggered wider effects across the western European nations. By pulling tropical air from the subtropical zones, the system assisted in raising temperatures in south-west France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the country's highest recorded late autumn reading.

By the following Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body met a chilly atmospheric body across the northern areas of Europe, generating a band of rain extending from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this stalling band of rain produced record-breaking rain accumulations, resulting in significant waterlogging in the principality of Wales.

As Claudia continues to weaken early this week, the cold air mass will push south, providing the continent its initial glimpse of the winter season.

Related Incidents in California

The Golden State underwent an "atmospheric river" recently, causing torrential rain and strong winds that led to sudden inundations and mudslides in zones scarred by blazes earlier this year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain fell in southern California on the week's end, with a further 50mm widely across the state on the subsequent Saturday.

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

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

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena region suffered the most severe the rapid inundations and landslides, leading to evacuations.

Across California, a 71-year-old man lost his life after his automobile was washed off a inundated overpass, and a young girl aged seven and her dad were dragged into the ocean by powerful waves on the Central Coast.