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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves dealing with the consequences of significant inundation after Tempest Claudia unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

Claudia's Formation and Trajectory

The storm system developed from a low-pressure zone that had previously ushered in early season cold and snowy conditions 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 over the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Iberian peninsula, snared in a dip of an progressively more wavy jet stream.

Effects in Spain and Portugal

Galicia in north-west Spain was hit first, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain coming down along its western coastline 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 Thursday brought flooding to Portuguese localities where an elderly couple died in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they were asleep.

Stormy conditions lasted through the weekend, with a twister ripping through a campsite and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday, fatally injuring an British woman aged 85 and injuring two dozen and eight persons.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

Claudia had broader repercussions across Europe's western part. By drawing warm air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in France's south-west to 29.8C (85.6F), the state's maximum ever late autumn reading.

By the following Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a cold air mass across the northern areas of the continent, creating a precipitation zone extending from western Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this stationary front of rain delivered exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing major inundations in the principality of Wales.

As the storm continues to weaken in the coming days, the frigid air will push south, giving Europe its premier experience of the winter season.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California

The US state of California encountered an "atmospheric river" recently, bringing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that led to rapid flooding and landslides in zones impacted by wildfires in the recent past.

Over two inches of rain poured down in California's southern part on Friday, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain fell over coastal areas of the state's south in total, attaining eight inches in total in spots on high ground.

Such a weather system is a plume of hot, humid air originating from the tropics or subtropics.

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena experienced the worst of the sudden floods and mudslides, prompting evacuations.

In other parts of the state, a 71-year-old man passed away after his vehicle was washed off a inundated overpass, and a child of seven years and her parent were pulled into the sea by large waves on the the state's central shoreline.