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The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of extensive inundation in the wake of Storm Claudia delivered torrential downpours and strong winds over the past seven days.

Claudia's Origin and Path

This meteorological event formed from an area of low pressure that had earlier driven unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern US at the start of November.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic in the middle of the second week of November before decelerating and halting to the northwestern area of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, caught in the trough of an progressively more wavy jet stream.

Effects in Iberia

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was the first affected, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain coming down along its west coast in just a single day up to Wednesday evening as a sluggish front of rain pushed across the western sectors of the Iberian peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday led to floods to Portuguese localities where a senior pair lost their lives in the city of Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they rested.

Unsettled atmospheric states continued into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind tearing through a camping ground and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday, claiming the life of an 85-year-old British woman and harming two dozen and eight persons.

Extended Consequences across Europe

The storm produced more extensive impacts across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system assisted in raising temperatures in southwestern France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the state's maximum ever late autumn reading.

By last Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern regions of Europe, forming a rainfall belt extending from western Ireland to Russia.

In the UK, this halting system of rain delivered record-breaking rain accumulations, leading to severe flooding in Wales.

As the storm loses strength in the coming days, the frigid air will push south, delivering to Europe its premier experience of winter.

Parallel Events in the state of California

California experienced a plume of tropical moisture the previous week, bringing intense precipitation and powerful winds that resulted in flash flooding and landslides in zones scarred by forest fires earlier this year.

Over two inches of rain poured down in the southern region of the state on last Friday, with a further 50mm across extensive areas of California on Saturday last.

Over four inches of rain accumulated over shoreline regions of Southern CA in all, attaining a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

An atmospheric river is a narrow band of hot, humid air coming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Locations with fire damage including Pacific Palisades and the town of Altadena suffered the most severe the rapid inundations and mudslides, prompting evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a elderly male passed away after his automobile was swept off a flooded bridge, and a child of seven years and her dad were dragged into the Pacific by powerful waves on the Central Coast.