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The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of extensive flooding following Storm Claudia unleashed heavy rain and strong winds the previous week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

The storm system developed from a low-pressure zone that had beforehand ushered in early season chilly and snowy weather through the eastern sectors of Canada and the north-eastern United States at the start of November.

The system tracked eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the second week of November before slowing and stalling to the northwestern area of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, snared in a dip of an progressively more wavy air current.

Effects in the Iberian Peninsula

The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was the first affected, with three to six inches of rain pouring down along its Atlantic coast in just one full day up to the evening of Wednesday as a leisurely moving system of rain drifted across western parts of the region.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on Thursday last week led to floods to parts of Portugal where an older couple lost their lives in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus invaded their residence as they were asleep.

Stormy conditions continued into the weekend, with a tornado ripping through a outdoor lodging area and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the south in Portugal's south on Saturday last week, fatally injuring an 85-year-old British woman and harming 28 people.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

Claudia had broader repercussions across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system helped temperatures in France's south-west to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the country's highest recorded late autumn reading.

By last Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern regions of Europe, generating a precipitation zone running from western Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this halting system of rain delivered exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing significant waterlogging in Wales.

As this weather phenomenon continues to weaken at the start of the week, the cold air mass will move towards the south, providing the continent its initial glimpse of colder weather.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California

The US state of California experienced a so-called atmospheric river last week, bringing heavy rain and powerful winds that resulted in rapid flooding and landslides in zones scarred by wildfires earlier this year.

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

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain accumulated over coastal parts of Southern CA in aggregate, reaching a full 200 millimetres in locations at higher elevations.

An atmospheric river is a narrow band of hot, humid air originating from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Burn scar areas including Pacific Palisades and Altadena experienced the most intense the rapid inundations and mudslides, forcing residents to flee.

Elsewhere in California, a elderly male lost his life after his vehicle was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a child of seven years and her dad were dragged into the ocean by large waves on the California's Central Coast.