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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves recovering from widespread inundation following Tempest Claudia delivered torrential downpours and strong winds last week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This meteorological event originated from an area of low pressure that had earlier driven unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through the eastern sectors of Canada and the north-eastern United States in early November.

The system tracked eastwards across the Atlantic in the middle of the second week of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, caught in the trough of an increasingly amplified air current.

Consequences for the Iberian Peninsula

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 one full day up to Wednesday night as a sluggish front of rain drifted across western parts of the Iberian peninsula.

More downpours and stormy weather on the following Thursday caused inundations to Portuguese localities where an elderly couple lost their lives in the capital Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they were asleep.

Stormy conditions continued into the weekend, with a twister tearing through a camping ground and a close-by inn in Albufeira in southern Portugal on the weekend's Saturday, killing an British woman aged 85 and harming 28 people.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

The storm produced broader repercussions across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the subtropical zones, the system helped temperatures in southwestern France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the state's maximum ever November temperature.

By Friday, this tropical air mass collided with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern regions of Europe, forming a rainfall belt running from the west of Ireland to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this stationary front of rain brought very high rainfall totals, causing severe flooding in Wales.

As this weather phenomenon progressively weakens in the coming days, the frigid air will push south, giving Europe its first taste of colder weather.

Parallel Events in California

The US state of California underwent an "atmospheric river" last week, causing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that provoked flash flooding and landslides in regions impacted by forest fires previously in the year.

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

Over four inches of rain accumulated over coastal areas of Southern CA in total, reaching a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

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

Burn scar areas including Pacific Palisades and Altadena region suffered the most intense the rapid inundations and landslides, forcing residents to flee.

In other parts of the state, a elderly male died after his vehicle was swept off a inundated overpass, and a young girl aged seven and her parent were dragged into the sea by big swells on the California's Central Coast.