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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves recovering from widespread flooding in the wake of Storm Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and strong winds last week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This meteorological event formed from a low-pressure zone that had beforehand driven unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States in early November.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian region, caught in the trough of an ever more meandering jet stream.

Consequences for Iberia

Galicia in north-west Spain was initially impacted, with three to six inches of rain falling along its Atlantic coast in just a single day up to Wednesday night as a leisurely moving system of rain crawled across the western areas of the Iberian peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday led to floods to Portuguese localities where a senior pair perished in the city of Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they were asleep.

Unsettled atmospheric states lasted through the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a outdoor lodging area and a nearby hotel in the town of Albufeira in southern Portugal on Saturday last week, claiming the life of an 85-year-old British woman and harming 28 individuals.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

The storm produced wider effects across the western European nations. By drawing warm air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in France's south-west to 29.8C (85.6F), the state's maximum ever autumn temperature.

By the following Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body met a chilly atmospheric body across more northern parts of the continent, forming a band of rain extending from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this stationary front of rain produced very high rainfall totals, resulting in significant waterlogging in the principality of Wales.

As Claudia loses strength early this week, the frigid air will move towards the south, delivering to Europe its initial glimpse of colder weather.

Related Incidents in the state of California

The US state of California encountered an "atmospheric river" last week, causing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that resulted in rapid flooding and debris flows in areas impacted by blazes earlier this year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain was recorded in southern California on last Friday, with a further 50mm across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday.

Over four inches of rain fell over coastal parts of Southern CA in all, attaining 200mm overall in locations at higher elevations.

This meteorological feature is a plume of tropical, saturated air stemming from the tropics or subtropics.

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena region experienced the worst of the rapid inundations and earth movements, prompting evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a 71-year-old man died after his vehicle was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her parent were dragged into the ocean by powerful waves on the Central Coast.