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Portugal and Spain are once more battling the aftermath of extensive inundation in the wake of Tempest Claudia brought heavy rain and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

Claudia's Origin and Path

This meteorological event formed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had previously caused unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through the eastern regions of Canada and the north-eastern United States in early November.

The system moved eastward across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, trapped within a trough of an ever more meandering atmospheric river.

Effects in the Iberian Peninsula

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with 80-150mm of rain pouring down along its Atlantic coast in just one full day up to Wednesday evening as a leisurely moving system of rain drifted across the western areas of the peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on the following Thursday caused inundations to areas in Portugal where an older couple died in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they were asleep.

Stormy conditions continued into the weekend, with a tornado tearing through a campsite and a adjacent hotel in the town of Albufeira in the Algarve region on Saturday, killing an British woman aged 85 and injuring 28 individuals.

Wider Effects across Europe

Claudia had wider effects across the western European nations. By drawing warm air from the subtropics, the system assisted in raising temperatures in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the state's maximum ever late autumn reading.

By the following Friday, this tropical air mass collided with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern regions of the continent, generating a precipitation zone extending from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this halting system of rain produced exceptionally large precipitation amounts, resulting in severe flooding in the principality of Wales.

As Claudia continues to weaken in the coming days, the frigid air will advance southward, providing the continent its first taste of winter.

Related Incidents in California

The Golden State underwent a plume of tropical moisture the previous week, bringing intense precipitation and powerful winds that resulted in rapid flooding and mudslides in regions affected by wildfires previously in the year.

Over two inches of rain fell in southern California on last Friday, with a further 50mm widely across the state on Saturday.

Over four inches of rain was deposited on coastal parts of southern California in all, reaching a full 200 millimetres in locations at higher elevations.

An atmospheric river is a narrow band of hot, humid air originating from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Locations with fire damage including Palisades and Altadena experienced the worst of the sudden floods and mudslides, leading to evacuations.

Across California, a man in his seventies died after his vehicle was washed off a flooded bridge, and a child of seven years and her dad were swept into the ocean by big swells on the California's Central Coast.