Tempest Claudia Delivers Additional Inundation to the Portuguese nation and Spain

Portugal and Spain are once more dealing with the consequences of significant inundation after Storm Claudia delivered torrential downpours and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

The Storm's Origin and Path

The storm system developed from a low-pressure zone that had beforehand driven early season cold and snowy conditions through the eastern sectors of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States at the start of November.

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 ever more meandering atmospheric river.

Effects in the Iberian Peninsula

Galicia in north-west Spain was the first affected, with three to six inches of rain falling along its western coastline in just one full day up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain drifted across the western sectors of the region.

More downpours and stormy weather on the following Thursday brought flooding to areas in Portugal where an older couple perished in the city of Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River entered their home as they rested.

Stormy conditions continued into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind ripping through a campsite and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in the south in southern Portugal on Saturday, fatally injuring an British woman aged 85 and harming 28 people.

Broader Impacts across Europe

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

By last Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body collided with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern areas of the continent, forming a band of rain running from the west of Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the Britain, this stalling band of rain produced very high rainfall totals, leading to major inundations in Wales.

As the storm loses strength in the coming days, the frigid air will advance southward, delivering to Europe its premier experience of winter.

Related Incidents in the state of California

The Golden State experienced an "atmospheric river" recently, bringing intense precipitation and powerful winds that resulted in flash flooding and debris flows in zones impacted by blazes previously in the year.

Over two inches of rain poured down in California's southern part on Friday, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on Saturday last.

More than 100mm of rain accumulated over shoreline regions of the state's south in total, hitting eight inches in total in areas of elevated terrain.

An atmospheric river is a plume of hot, humid air stemming from the tropics or subtropics.

Burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena region endured the worst of the flash flooding and landslides, prompting evacuations.

Across California, a elderly male passed away after his vehicle was carried away from a flooded bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her parent were swept into the ocean by big swells on the the state's central shoreline.