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The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of widespread flooding in the wake of Tempest Claudia unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts the previous week.

Claudia's Origin and Path

This weather system formed from an area of low pressure that had previously ushered in unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States during the beginning of the eleventh month.

This storm moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean over the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the northwestern area of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, caught in the trough of an ever more meandering atmospheric river.

Consequences for the Iberian Peninsula

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

More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday last week led to floods to parts of Portugal where an older couple perished in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus invaded their residence as they rested.

Stormy conditions lasted through the weekend, with a tornado devastating a camping ground and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday last week, fatally injuring an elderly British lady and harming 28 people.

Extended Consequences across the European continent

The storm produced broader repercussions across the western European nations. By drawing warm air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in south-west France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the state's maximum ever November temperature.

By Friday, this warm and humid air mass met a chilly atmospheric body across more northern parts of the continent, creating a band of rain running from western Ireland to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this halting system of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing major inundations in the Welsh region.

As Claudia progressively weakens in the coming days, the cold air mass will push south, providing the continent its first taste of the winter season.

Related Incidents in the state of California

The US state of California encountered an "atmospheric river" recently, causing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that resulted in rapid flooding and landslides in zones impacted by blazes earlier this year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain fell in the southern region of the state on last Friday, with a further 50mm widely across the state on Saturday last.

Over four inches of rain accumulated over coastal parts of Southern CA in total, reaching a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

This meteorological feature is a concentrated stream of warm, moist air coming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena region endured the worst of the flash flooding and earth movements, leading to evacuations.

In other parts of the state, a man in his seventies lost his life after his automobile was washed off a inundated overpass, and a seven-year-old girl and her father were swept into the ocean by big swells on the Central Coast.