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The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of significant inundation following Tempest Claudia brought torrential downpours and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

Claudia's Formation and Trajectory

The storm system formed from an area of low pressure that had earlier caused early season cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern US at the start of November.

The system moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean over the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the northwestern area of the Iberian region, caught in the trough of an progressively more wavy jet stream.

Effects in Spain and Portugal

The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was initially impacted, with 80-150mm of rain pouring down along its western coastline in just a single day up to the evening of Wednesday as a sluggish front of rain pushed across western parts of the peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday last week caused inundations to areas in Portugal where an elderly couple perished in the capital Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they were asleep.

Tempestuous weather continued into the weekend, with a twister devastating a campsite and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in southern Portugal on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an British woman aged 85 and harming two dozen and eight persons.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

Claudia had broader repercussions across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system assisted in raising temperatures in southwestern France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the state's maximum ever November temperature.

By Friday, this warm and humid air mass collided with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern regions of Europe, forming a rainfall belt extending from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the Britain, this halting system of rain delivered record-breaking rain accumulations, causing severe flooding in the principality of Wales.

As the storm continues to weaken at the start of the week, the chilly atmospheric system will move towards the south, providing the continent its initial glimpse of colder weather.

Related Incidents in California

The US state of California underwent a so-called atmospheric river recently, causing torrential rain and powerful winds that resulted in sudden inundations and debris flows in zones scarred by forest fires previously in the year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in southern California on last Friday, with a another 50 millimetres across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday.

Over four inches of rain fell over shoreline regions of Southern CA in total, hitting a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

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

Locations with fire damage including Palisades and the town of Altadena endured the most severe the sudden floods and mudslides, prompting evacuations.

Across California, a elderly male died after his car was washed off a submerged bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her parent were dragged into the ocean by powerful waves on the Central Coast.