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The Iberian nations are again battling the aftermath of extensive flooding following Storm Claudia brought torrential downpours and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

The Storm's Genesis and Journey

This meteorological event developed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had previously driven unseasonably early freezing temperatures and snowfall through the eastern regions of Canada and the north-eastern US at the start of November.

Claudia journeyed east across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the northwestern area of the Iberian region, snared in a dip of an progressively more wavy atmospheric river.

Effects in Iberia

Galicia in north-west Spain was initially impacted, with 80-150mm of rain falling along its Atlantic coast in just a single day up to Wednesday night as a leisurely moving system of rain drifted across the western sectors of the Iberian peninsula.

More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday led to floods to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple lost their lives in the city of Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River invaded their residence as they were asleep.

Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a twister tearing through a outdoor lodging area and a adjacent hotel in the town of Albufeira in Portugal's south on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an 85-year-old British woman and injuring 28 individuals.

Broader Impacts across Europe

This system triggered wider effects across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded November temperature.

By last Friday, this tropical air mass collided with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern regions of the continent, generating a precipitation zone extending from Ireland's west to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this stationary front of rain brought record-breaking rain accumulations, resulting in major inundations in Wales.

As Claudia progressively weakens early this week, the cold air mass will advance southward, providing the continent its first taste of winter.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California, USA

The Golden State experienced a plume of tropical moisture recently, bringing torrential rain and strong winds that resulted in sudden inundations and debris flows in regions impacted by forest fires previously in the year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in the southern region of the state on Friday, with a further 50mm broadly over the state on the subsequent Saturday.

More than 100mm of rain was deposited on coastal parts of southern California in aggregate, attaining a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

An atmospheric river is a concentrated stream of hot, humid air coming from the tropics or subtropics.

Locations with fire damage including Palisades and Altadena endured the most severe the sudden floods and landslides, forcing residents to flee.

In other parts of the state, a man in his seventies died after his vehicle was carried away from a flooded bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her parent were pulled into the Pacific by big swells on the California's Central Coast.