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Portugal and Spain are once more dealing with the consequences of widespread inundation following Tempest Claudia delivered heavy rain and strong winds the previous week.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

The storm system formed from an area of low pressure that had earlier caused 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 tracked eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, trapped within a trough of an progressively more wavy atmospheric river.

Effects in Iberia

Galicia in north-west Spain was the first affected, with three to six inches 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 crawled across western parts of the peninsula.

More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday led to floods to areas in Portugal where an elderly couple died in the city of Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they rested.

Stormy conditions lasted through the weekend, with a twister tearing through a outdoor lodging area and a adjacent hotel in the town of Albufeira in southern Portugal on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an 85-year-old British woman and injuring 28 people.

Wider Effects across the European continent

The storm produced more extensive impacts across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in southwestern France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded November temperature.

By Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body collided with a chilly atmospheric body across more northern parts of the continent, forming a precipitation zone stretching from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the Britain, this stalling band of rain delivered exceptionally large precipitation amounts, leading to major inundations in the principality of Wales.

As this weather phenomenon continues to weaken early this week, the cold air mass will advance southward, giving Europe its premier experience of colder weather.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California

California experienced a plume of tropical moisture recently, bringing torrential rain and strong winds that resulted in sudden inundations and mudslides in zones scarred by forest fires earlier this year.

More than 50mm of rain fell in California's southern part on the week's end, with a another 50 millimetres widely across the state on the subsequent Saturday.

Over four inches of rain was deposited on coastal parts of the state's south in total, hitting 200mm overall in spots on high ground.

This meteorological feature is a concentrated stream of hot, humid air originating from the tropics or subtropics.

Locations with fire damage including Palisades and Altadena region endured the most intense the rapid inundations and landslides, forcing residents to flee.

Across California, a man in his seventies died after his vehicle was carried away from a inundated overpass, and a child of seven years and her father were pulled into the sea by big swells on the the state's central shoreline.