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Portugal and Spain are once more recovering from significant flooding in the wake of Storm Claudia brought heavy rain and strong winds over the past seven days.

The Storm's Origin and Path

The storm system developed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had earlier driven early season freezing temperatures and snowfall through the eastern regions of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern US during the beginning of the eleventh month.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, caught in the trough of an progressively more wavy atmospheric river.

Effects in Iberia

The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was hit first, with 80-150mm of rain coming down along its Atlantic coast in just 24 hours up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain pushed across the western sectors of the region.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday caused inundations to Portuguese localities where a senior pair lost their lives in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus flooded their dwelling as they slept.

Stormy conditions persisted into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a outdoor lodging area and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the Algarve region on Saturday last week, fatally injuring an 85-year-old British woman and injuring 28 individuals.

Wider Effects across Europe

This system triggered more extensive impacts across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in France's south-west to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the state's maximum ever autumn temperature.

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

In the Britain, this stationary front of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing severe flooding in the principality of Wales.

As this weather phenomenon loses strength at the start of the week, the frigid air will advance southward, delivering to Europe its first taste of colder weather.

Parallel Events in California, USA

California encountered a so-called atmospheric river recently, bringing intense precipitation and strong winds that provoked rapid flooding and debris flows in zones affected by blazes in the recent past.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in California's southern part on last Friday, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on Saturday.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain accumulated over coastal parts of Southern CA in total, hitting a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

This meteorological feature is a plume of hot, humid air coming from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Locations with fire damage including Pacific Palisades and Altadena endured the most intense the flash flooding and earth movements, leading to evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a man in his seventies died after his vehicle was swept off a flooded bridge, and a child of seven years and her parent were swept into the ocean by powerful waves on the Central Coast.