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Portugal and Spain are once more battling the aftermath of widespread inundation following Storm Claudia brought heavy rain and powerful gusts last week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This weather system originated from an area of low pressure that had previously ushered in early season freezing temperatures and snowfall through eastern parts of Canada and the American north-east in early November.

This storm tracked eastwards across the Atlantic in the middle of the second week of November before decelerating and halting to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, caught in the trough of an ever more meandering atmospheric river.

Impact on the Iberian Peninsula

Galicia in north-west Spain was the first affected, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain coming down along its western coastline in just one full day up to Wednesday evening as a sluggish front of rain crawled across the western areas of the peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on the following Thursday caused inundations to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple lost their lives in the city of Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they slept.

Unsettled atmospheric states continued into the weekend, with a twister tearing through a camping ground and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the south in Portugal's south on the weekend's Saturday, claiming the life of an elderly British lady and wounding 28 people.

Extended Consequences across the European continent

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

By the following Friday, this warm and humid air mass met a chilly atmospheric body across more northern parts of the continent, generating a precipitation zone running from western Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the Britain, this halting system of rain produced record-breaking rain accumulations, leading to significant waterlogging in the Welsh region.

As Claudia continues to weaken at the start of the week, the chilly atmospheric system will move towards the south, giving Europe its initial glimpse of the winter season.

Parallel Events in California

The US state of California underwent a so-called atmospheric river last week, bringing torrential rain and strong winds that provoked flash flooding and landslides in regions affected by forest fires in the recent past.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in California's southern part on last Friday, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain accumulated over coastal areas of southern California in all, reaching a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

This meteorological feature is a plume of warm, moist air coming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Locations with fire damage including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena region endured the worst of the sudden floods and landslides, prompting evacuations.

Across California, a 71-year-old man died after his car was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her parent were swept into the sea by big swells on the California's Central Coast.