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The Iberian nations are again battling the aftermath of widespread inundation following Tempest Claudia delivered torrential downpours and powerful gusts the previous week.

Claudia's Origin and Path

The storm system originated from a low-pressure zone that had earlier caused unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through the eastern regions of Canada and the American north-east during the beginning of the eleventh month.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the second week of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, trapped within a trough of an increasingly amplified jet stream.

Impact on Spain and Portugal

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with three to six inches of rain pouring down along its Atlantic coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday night as a sluggish front of rain drifted across western parts of the region.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday brought flooding to areas in Portugal where a senior pair died in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus entered their home as they rested.

Tempestuous weather lasted through the weekend, with a violent whirlwind ripping through a outdoor lodging area and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the south in southern Portugal on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an British woman aged 85 and harming 28 individuals.

Extended Consequences across Europe

This system triggered more extensive impacts across western Europe. By drawing warm air from the subtropical zones, the system helped temperatures in southwestern France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the state's maximum ever autumn temperature.

By last Friday, this warm and humid air mass collided with a cold air mass across the northern regions of Europe, forming a rainfall belt running from Ireland's west to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this halting system of rain brought very high rainfall totals, leading to major inundations in Wales.

As this weather phenomenon loses strength at the start of the week, the cold air mass will move towards the south, providing the continent its first taste of winter.

Parallel Events in the state of California

The US state of California encountered an "atmospheric river" the previous week, causing heavy rain and strong winds that resulted in flash flooding and mudslides in areas scarred by forest fires earlier this year.

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

More than 100mm of rain was deposited on coastal parts of the state's south in all, reaching eight inches in total in spots on high ground.

This meteorological feature is a narrow band of tropical, saturated air stemming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena region experienced the most intense the rapid inundations and mudslides, prompting evacuations.

In other parts of the state, a 71-year-old man lost his life after his car was washed off a flooded bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her father were dragged into the sea by big swells on the Central Coast.