Tempest Claudia Brings More Flooding to the Portuguese nation and Spain

Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves dealing with the consequences of significant flooding after Storm Claudia unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts last week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This meteorological event developed from an area of low pressure that had earlier caused early season chilly and snowy weather through the eastern regions of the Canadian territory and the American north-east at the start of November.

Claudia journeyed east across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the north-west of the Iberian region, trapped within a trough of an ever more meandering air current.

Impact on Spain and Portugal

Galicia in north-west Spain was initially impacted, with 80-150mm of rain pouring down along its west coast in just 24 hours up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain crawled across the western sectors of the peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on Thursday brought flooding to areas in Portugal where an elderly couple lost their lives in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they rested.

Tempestuous weather lasted through the weekend, with a tornado devastating a camping ground and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the Algarve region on Saturday, claiming the life of an elderly British lady and injuring 28 people.

Wider Effects across the European continent

This system triggered more extensive impacts across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system assisted in raising temperatures in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded autumn temperature.

By the following Friday, this warm and humid air mass collided with a frigid air system across more northern parts of the continent, creating a band of rain running from western Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this halting system of rain delivered record-breaking rain accumulations, causing severe flooding in the Welsh region.

As Claudia continues to weaken in the coming days, the chilly atmospheric system will push south, providing the continent its initial glimpse of colder weather.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California

California underwent an "atmospheric river" the previous week, delivering heavy rain and high-velocity gusts that provoked flash flooding and debris flows in zones impacted by blazes previously in the year.

More than 50mm of rain poured down in the southern region of the state on Friday, with a further 50mm across extensive areas of California on Saturday.

Over four inches of rain fell over coastal areas of Southern CA in all, hitting a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

An atmospheric river is a plume of warm, moist air originating from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Locations with fire damage including Palisades and Altadena region suffered the worst of the sudden floods and earth movements, prompting evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a 71-year-old man lost his life after his vehicle was carried away from a flooded bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her parent were pulled into the sea by powerful waves on the the state's central shoreline.