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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves recovering from extensive flooding in the wake of Storm Claudia brought heavy rain and strong winds over the past seven days.

Claudia's Origin and Path

The storm system developed from an area of low pressure that had previously ushered in early season cold and snowy conditions through the eastern sectors of Canada and the American north-east during the beginning of the eleventh month.

This storm journeyed east across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Iberian region, snared in a dip of an ever more meandering air current.

Consequences for Iberia

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was the first affected, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain falling along its west coast in just a single day up to Wednesday night as a slow-moving band of rain pushed across the western sectors of the Iberian peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on Thursday last week brought flooding to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple perished in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River invaded their residence as they slept.

Tempestuous weather continued into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind tearing through a outdoor lodging area and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the south in Portugal's south on Saturday, claiming the life of an elderly British lady and wounding two dozen and eight persons.

Broader Impacts across Europe

Claudia had more extensive impacts across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in south-west France to 29.8C (85.6F), the state's maximum ever November temperature.

By Friday, this warm and humid air mass met a frigid air system across more northern parts of Europe, forming a precipitation zone extending from western Ireland to Russia.

In the UK, this halting system of rain delivered record-breaking rain accumulations, causing major inundations in the Welsh region.

As Claudia loses strength early this week, the chilly atmospheric system will push south, delivering to Europe its premier experience of colder weather.

Parallel Events in the state of California

The US state of California underwent a so-called atmospheric river the previous week, bringing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that resulted in sudden inundations and debris flows in zones impacted by blazes previously in the year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in California's southern part on Friday, with a another 50 millimetres widely across the state on Saturday.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain accumulated over coastal areas of Southern CA in total, hitting a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

This meteorological feature is a narrow band of tropical, saturated air stemming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Regions previously burned including Palisades and Altadena endured the most severe the rapid inundations and mudslides, forcing residents to flee.

Elsewhere in California, a 71-year-old man passed away after his car was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her father were pulled into the ocean by big swells on the Central Coast.