Storm Claudia Brings Additional Inundation to the Portuguese nation and the Spanish territory

Portugal and Spain are once more recovering from extensive flooding following Storm Claudia delivered heavy rain and powerful gusts last week.

Claudia's Origin and Path

This meteorological event developed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had earlier ushered in unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern sectors of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States during the beginning of the eleventh month.

The system tracked eastwards across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Iberian peninsula, caught in the trough of an increasingly amplified air current.

Impact on the Iberian Peninsula

The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was hit first, with 80-150mm of rain falling along its Atlantic coast in just a single day up to the evening of Wednesday as a sluggish front of rain crawled across western parts of the peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on the following Thursday caused inundations to Portuguese localities where a senior pair lost their lives in the capital Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River invaded their residence as they slept.

Tempestuous weather lasted through the weekend, with a twister devastating a campsite and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday, killing an British woman aged 85 and wounding 28 people.

Wider Effects across the European continent

The storm produced broader repercussions across western Europe. By drawing warm air from the warmer regions, the system helped temperatures in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the nation's all-time high late autumn reading.

By Friday, this warm and humid air mass clashed with a cold air mass across the northern areas of Europe, forming a rainfall belt running from western Ireland to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this stalling band of rain brought very high rainfall totals, causing major inundations in Wales.

As the storm loses strength at the start of the week, the frigid air will push south, delivering to Europe its premier experience of colder weather.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California, USA

California encountered a plume of tropical moisture last week, delivering intense precipitation and powerful winds that led to rapid flooding and mudslides in regions affected by blazes earlier this year.

More than 50mm of rain was recorded in California's southern part on the week's end, with a further 50mm broadly over the state on the subsequent Saturday.

Over four inches of rain was deposited on coastal areas of Southern CA in all, reaching a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

This meteorological feature is a concentrated stream of warm, moist air originating from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Locations with fire damage including Pacific Palisades and the town of Altadena experienced the most severe the rapid inundations and mudslides, leading to evacuations.

Across California, a man in his seventies lost his life after his vehicle was swept off a inundated overpass, and a seven-year-old girl and her father were dragged into the sea by large waves on the Central Coast.