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The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of significant flooding in the wake of Tempest Claudia delivered heavy rain and strong winds last week.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

This meteorological event formed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had beforehand driven early season chilly and snowy weather through the eastern regions of the Canadian territory and the American north-east in early November.

Claudia journeyed east across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the north-west of the Iberian region, trapped within a trough of an progressively more wavy air current.

Effects in Spain and Portugal

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was the first affected, with three to six inches of rain coming down along its west coast in just one full day up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain pushed across the western areas of the region.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday caused inundations to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple lost their lives in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus entered their home as they slept.

Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind ripping through a campsite and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the south in southern Portugal on Saturday last week, killing an British woman aged 85 and wounding 28 people.

Extended Consequences across Europe

The storm produced more extensive impacts across the western European nations. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system assisted in raising temperatures in south-west France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the country's highest recorded autumn temperature.

By the following Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a cold air mass across the northern regions of the continent, forming a precipitation zone running from the west of Ireland to Russia.

In the UK, this stalling band of rain produced exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing major inundations in Wales.

As Claudia progressively weakens at the start of the week, the chilly atmospheric system will advance southward, delivering to Europe its premier experience of the winter season.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California

The US state of California underwent an "atmospheric river" last week, causing intense precipitation and strong winds that resulted in rapid flooding and landslides in regions affected by blazes earlier this year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain fell in the southern region of the state on Friday, with a another 50 millimetres broadly over the state on Saturday.

More than 100mm of rain fell over coastal areas of southern California in total, reaching a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

An atmospheric river is a narrow band of warm, moist air coming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Locations with fire damage including Pacific Palisades and Altadena experienced the most severe the flash flooding and mudslides, prompting evacuations.

Across California, a man in his seventies lost his life after his vehicle was washed off a flooded bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her father were swept into the ocean by large waves on the California's Central Coast.