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Portugal and Spain are once more recovering from widespread flooding in the wake of Tempest Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and powerful gusts last week.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

This meteorological event originated from an area of low pressure that had beforehand driven unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern sectors of Canada and the north-eastern United States in early November.

This storm tracked eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, trapped within a trough of an increasingly amplified jet stream.

Consequences for the Iberian Peninsula

The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was the first affected, with three to six inches of rain pouring down along its west coast in just a single day up to Wednesday evening as a slow-moving band of rain pushed across western parts of the Iberian peninsula.

More downpours and stormy weather on the following Thursday caused inundations to areas in Portugal where an older couple died in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus flooded their dwelling as they slept.

Stormy conditions continued into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind ripping through a campsite and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday last week, fatally injuring an elderly British lady and wounding 28 individuals.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

The storm produced broader repercussions across Europe's western part. By siphoning heated air from the warmer regions, the system helped temperatures in France's south-west to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the state's maximum ever November temperature.

By the following Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body collided with a frigid air system across the northern areas of Europe, generating a band of rain extending from western Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the United Kingdom, this stalling band of rain brought very high rainfall totals, leading to significant waterlogging in the Welsh region.

As the storm continues to weaken in the coming days, the frigid air will push south, providing the continent its initial glimpse of colder weather.

Related Incidents in California

California encountered an "atmospheric river" the previous week, delivering intense precipitation and strong winds that resulted in flash flooding and mudslides in zones impacted by blazes earlier this year.

Over two inches of rain fell in California's southern part on last Friday, with a additional two inches broadly over the state on Saturday last.

More than 100mm of rain accumulated over coastal areas of southern California in all, reaching 200mm overall in locations at higher elevations.

An atmospheric river is a plume of tropical, saturated air stemming from the tropics or subtropics.

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and the town of Altadena experienced the most severe the rapid inundations and earth movements, leading to evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a man in his seventies died after his automobile was washed off a submerged bridge, and a child of seven years and her father were pulled into the Pacific by powerful waves on the California's Central Coast.