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Portugal and Spain are once more battling the aftermath of extensive inundation after Tempest Claudia delivered heavy rain and strong winds over the past seven days.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This weather system originated from an area of low pressure that had beforehand ushered in early season chilly and snowy weather through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern US at the start of November.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean over the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, snared in a dip of an progressively more wavy atmospheric river.

Effects in the Iberian Peninsula

The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was hit first, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain falling along its Atlantic coast in just one full day up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain crawled across western parts of the region.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday last week led to floods to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple lost their lives in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus entered their home as they rested.

Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a tornado devastating a camping ground and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in southern Portugal on Saturday, fatally injuring an elderly British lady and wounding two dozen and eight persons.

Broader Impacts across Europe

This system triggered more extensive impacts across the western European nations. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the state's maximum ever autumn temperature.

By Friday, this warm and humid air mass collided with a chilly atmospheric body across the northern areas of Europe, creating a precipitation zone running from the west of Ireland to Russia.

In the Britain, this stationary front of rain brought record-breaking rain accumulations, leading to major inundations in the Welsh region.

As this weather phenomenon loses strength early this week, the frigid air will move towards the south, delivering to Europe its premier experience of colder weather.

Related Incidents in the state of California

The Golden State underwent an "atmospheric river" the previous week, causing torrential rain and strong winds that resulted in sudden inundations and debris flows in zones scarred by forest fires earlier this year.

Over two inches of rain fell in southern California on the week's end, with a another 50 millimetres across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday.

More than 100mm of rain fell over shoreline regions of southern California in aggregate, reaching 200mm overall in locations at higher elevations.

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

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and the town of Altadena suffered the most intense the rapid inundations and mudslides, leading to evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a elderly male passed away after his vehicle was washed off a flooded bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her parent were dragged into the Pacific by powerful waves on the California's Central Coast.