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The Iberian nations are again recovering from widespread flooding in the wake of Tempest Claudia brought heavy rain and strong winds last week.

The Storm's Formation and Trajectory

This meteorological event originated from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had previously ushered in early season cold and snowy conditions through the eastern regions of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States during the beginning of the eleventh month.

This storm moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean over the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, snared in a dip of an progressively more wavy jet stream.

Effects in Spain and Portugal

Galicia in north-west Spain was hit first, with three to six inches of rain coming down along its Atlantic coast in just one full day up to Wednesday evening as a sluggish front of rain drifted across the western areas of the Iberian peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on Thursday last week brought flooding to parts of Portugal where a senior pair lost their lives in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River invaded their residence as they slept.

Unsettled atmospheric states persisted into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a campsite and a nearby hotel in the town of Albufeira in southern Portugal on Saturday last week, killing an British woman aged 85 and injuring 28 people.

Broader Impacts across Europe

The storm produced broader repercussions across the western European nations. By drawing warm air from the subtropical zones, the system helped temperatures in France's south-west to 29.8C (85.6F), the country's highest recorded autumn temperature.

By last Friday, this tropical air mass clashed with a chilly atmospheric body across more northern parts of the continent, generating a band of rain running from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the Britain, this stalling band of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing severe flooding in the principality of Wales.

As this weather phenomenon continues to weaken in the coming days, the cold air mass will advance southward, delivering to Europe its first taste of winter.

Related Incidents in the state of California

California underwent a plume of tropical moisture recently, delivering intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that resulted in flash flooding and mudslides in zones impacted by blazes previously in the year.

More than 50mm of rain was recorded in southern California on Friday, with a further 50mm widely across the state on the subsequent Saturday.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain was deposited on coastal parts of southern California in all, reaching 200mm overall in areas of elevated terrain.

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

Burn scar areas including Palisades and the town of Altadena suffered the most severe the flash flooding and mudslides, forcing residents to flee.

Across California, a 71-year-old man lost his life after his automobile was washed off a inundated overpass, and a seven-year-old girl and her dad were swept into the sea by big swells on the California's Central Coast.