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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves dealing with the consequences of significant flooding following Storm Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and powerful gusts the previous week.

The Storm's Genesis and Journey

This meteorological event developed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had previously driven unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern sectors of Canada and the American north-east during the beginning of the eleventh month.

This storm moved eastward across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Iberian peninsula, trapped within a trough of an ever more meandering atmospheric river.

Impact on Iberia

Galicia in north-west Spain was initially impacted, with three to six inches of rain pouring down along its western coastline in just 24 hours up to Wednesday night as a sluggish front of rain drifted across the western areas of the Iberian peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on the following Thursday caused inundations to Portuguese localities where an elderly couple died in the capital Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they slept.

Stormy conditions lasted through the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a campsite and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in southern Portugal on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an elderly British lady and harming two dozen and eight persons.

Extended Consequences across Europe

This system triggered more extensive impacts across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system assisted in raising temperatures in south-west France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the nation's all-time high November temperature.

By the following Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a cold air mass across more northern parts of Europe, creating a precipitation zone stretching from western Ireland to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this stationary front of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, resulting in major inundations in the Welsh region.

As this weather phenomenon loses strength early this week, the cold air mass will push south, providing the continent its initial glimpse of winter.

Parallel Events in California, USA

California underwent a so-called atmospheric river last week, delivering torrential rain and powerful winds that led to rapid flooding and mudslides in areas affected by wildfires previously in the year.

More than 50mm of rain fell in California's southern part on last Friday, with a another 50 millimetres broadly over the state on Saturday last.

Over four inches of rain fell over coastal areas of the state's south in total, reaching a full 200 millimetres in locations at higher elevations.

An atmospheric river is a concentrated stream of hot, humid air coming from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

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

In other parts of the state, a elderly male died after his automobile was carried away from a flooded bridge, and a child of seven years and her father were swept into the sea by big swells on the Central Coast.