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The Iberian nations are again battling the aftermath of significant inundation following Tempest Claudia unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts last week.

The Storm's Formation and Trajectory

This weather system formed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had earlier driven unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern regions of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern US at the start of November.

Claudia journeyed east across the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the second week of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian region, snared in a dip of an increasingly amplified air current.

Effects in the Iberian Peninsula

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was initially impacted, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain pouring down along its west coast in just 24 hours up to the evening of Wednesday as a sluggish front of rain drifted across the western sectors of the Iberian peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday caused inundations to parts of Portugal where a senior pair lost their lives in the capital Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus entered their home as they were asleep.

Stormy conditions lasted through the weekend, with a tornado devastating a camping ground and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday last week, killing an British woman aged 85 and harming 28 individuals.

Wider Effects across the European continent

The storm produced more extensive impacts across western Europe. By drawing warm air from the subtropical zones, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in south-west France to 29.8C (85.6F), the nation's all-time high autumn temperature.

By Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern areas of Europe, creating a band of rain stretching from western Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the United Kingdom, this stalling band of rain produced very high rainfall totals, causing significant waterlogging in Wales.

As this weather phenomenon progressively weakens at the start of the week, the frigid air will push south, delivering to Europe its initial glimpse of the winter season.

Simultaneous Occurrences in the state of California

The US state of California underwent a plume of tropical moisture the previous week, delivering torrential rain and strong winds that led to flash flooding and mudslides in regions scarred by wildfires earlier this year.

Over two inches of rain fell in the southern region of the state on the week's end, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday.

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

An atmospheric river is a plume of tropical, saturated air coming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Regions previously burned including Pacific Palisades and the town of Altadena endured the worst of the rapid inundations and earth movements, prompting evacuations.

Across California, a man in his seventies lost his life after his car was swept off a inundated overpass, and a child of seven years and her dad were swept into the Pacific by large waves on the Central Coast.