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The Iberian nations are again battling the aftermath of extensive flooding after Tempest Claudia brought heavy rain and powerful gusts the previous week.

Claudia's Origin and Path

This meteorological event formed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had beforehand driven early season cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of the Canadian territory and the American north-east at the start of November.

The system journeyed east across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, trapped within a trough of an progressively more wavy jet stream.

Consequences for Iberia

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with three to six inches of rain coming down along its west coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday night as a slow-moving band of rain pushed across the western sectors of the peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday caused inundations to parts of Portugal where a senior pair lost their lives in Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River invaded their residence as they were asleep.

Unsettled atmospheric states lasted through the weekend, with a tornado devastating a campsite and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday, claiming the life of an 85-year-old British woman and wounding 28 individuals.

Extended Consequences across Europe

Claudia had more extensive impacts across the western European nations. By drawing warm air from the warmer regions, the system helped temperatures in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded autumn temperature.

By last Friday, this tropical air mass met a chilly atmospheric body across the northern areas of Europe, creating a precipitation zone extending from western Ireland to Russia.

In the Britain, this halting system of rain delivered record-breaking rain accumulations, causing major inundations in the principality of Wales.

As Claudia continues to weaken in the coming days, the chilly atmospheric system will advance southward, providing the continent its first taste of winter.

Simultaneous Occurrences in the state of California

California experienced an "atmospheric river" last week, delivering torrential rain and high-velocity gusts that resulted in rapid flooding and landslides in zones scarred by forest fires previously in the year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain was recorded in southern California on the week's end, with a another 50 millimetres broadly over the state on the subsequent Saturday.

Over four inches of rain accumulated over coastal parts of Southern CA in aggregate, hitting eight inches in total in spots on high ground.

Such a weather system is a narrow band of hot, humid air coming from the tropics or subtropics.

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and the town of Altadena endured the most intense the flash flooding and landslides, prompting evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a man in his seventies passed away after his vehicle was washed off a inundated overpass, and a seven-year-old girl and her parent were swept into the sea by large waves on the California's Central Coast.