Storm Claudia Brings Additional Inundation to Portugal and the Spanish territory

The Iberian nations are again battling the aftermath of significant inundation in the wake of Tempest Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and strong winds the previous week.

The Storm's Genesis and Journey

The storm system developed from a low-pressure zone that had beforehand driven early season freezing temperatures and snowfall through the eastern sectors of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States in early November.

This storm journeyed east across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, snared in a dip of an ever more meandering atmospheric river.

Consequences for Iberia

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with three to six inches of rain falling along its west coast in just a single day up to Wednesday evening as a sluggish front of rain crawled across western parts of the Iberian peninsula.

More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday last week led to floods to parts of Portugal where an older couple died in the capital Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they rested.

Stormy conditions persisted into the weekend, with a tornado ripping through a camping ground and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the Algarve region on the weekend's Saturday, killing an 85-year-old British woman and wounding 28 individuals.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

Claudia had more extensive impacts across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in France's south-west to 29.8C (85.6F), the country's highest recorded autumn temperature.

By last Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a cold air mass across more northern parts of the continent, creating a band of rain extending from the west of Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this halting system of rain produced exceptionally large precipitation amounts, leading to significant waterlogging in Wales.

As this weather phenomenon progressively weakens early this week, the cold air mass will move towards the south, giving Europe its first taste of colder weather.

Parallel Events in California

California encountered a plume of tropical moisture the previous week, bringing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that led to flash flooding and landslides in regions affected by forest fires in the recent past.

More than 50mm of rain poured down in the southern region of the state on Friday, with a another 50 millimetres across extensive areas of California on Saturday last.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain was deposited on coastal areas of the state's south in aggregate, reaching a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

This meteorological feature is a concentrated stream of warm, moist air stemming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Regions previously burned including Palisades and Altadena suffered the most severe the rapid inundations and mudslides, forcing residents to flee.

Elsewhere in California, a 71-year-old man lost his life after his car was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a child of seven years and her parent were pulled into the ocean by powerful waves on the Central Coast.