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The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of extensive inundation in the wake of Tempest Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and strong winds the previous week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This weather system originated from an area of low pressure that had earlier caused unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of Canada and the American north-east at the start of November.

This storm tracked eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, snared in a dip of an increasingly amplified atmospheric river.

Impact on Iberia

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was initially impacted, with 80-150mm of rain pouring down along its western coastline in just 24 hours up to the evening of Wednesday as a sluggish front of rain drifted across the western sectors of the region.

More downpours and stormy weather on the following Thursday led to floods to Portuguese localities where an older couple lost their lives in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they slept.

Stormy conditions persisted into the weekend, with a twister ripping through a campsite and a nearby hotel in the town of Albufeira in southern Portugal on the weekend's Saturday, killing an 85-year-old British woman and harming 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 helped temperatures in France's south-west to 29.8C (85.6F), the nation's all-time high autumn temperature.

By the following Friday, this tropical air mass met a frigid air system across the northern areas of Europe, generating a precipitation zone running from the west of Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the United Kingdom, this stalling band of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, resulting in significant waterlogging in the principality of Wales.

As Claudia progressively weakens early this week, the cold air mass will advance southward, giving Europe its premier experience of winter.

Parallel Events in California, USA

California underwent an "atmospheric river" the previous week, delivering intense precipitation and powerful winds that led to sudden inundations and landslides in areas affected by wildfires earlier this year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain fell in southern California on Friday, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on Saturday.

More than 100mm of rain accumulated over coastal areas of southern California in total, attaining a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

An atmospheric river is a plume of tropical, saturated air originating from the tropics or subtropics.

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena experienced the most intense the flash flooding and mudslides, forcing residents to flee.

Elsewhere in California, a elderly male passed away after his vehicle was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a child of seven years and her father were pulled into the ocean by powerful waves on the Central Coast.