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Portugal and Spain are once more battling the aftermath of extensive flooding following Storm Claudia delivered torrential downpours and powerful gusts last week.

The Storm's Formation and Trajectory

This weather system developed from a low-pressure zone that had previously caused early season cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern United States during the beginning of the eleventh month.

This storm tracked eastwards across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the north-west of the Iberian region, snared in a dip of an ever more meandering jet stream.

Effects in Spain and Portugal

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was the first affected, with 80-150mm of rain coming down along its west coast in just a single day up to the evening of Wednesday as a leisurely moving system of rain crawled across the western sectors of the peninsula.

More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday brought flooding to areas in Portugal where a senior pair lost their lives in the capital Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River entered their home as they rested.

Stormy conditions lasted through the weekend, with a tornado devastating a campsite and a close-by inn in the town of Albufeira in Portugal's south on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an British woman aged 85 and injuring two dozen and eight persons.

Extended Consequences across Europe

Claudia had broader repercussions across western Europe. By siphoning heated air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in south-west France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the country's highest recorded late autumn reading.

By last Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a frigid air system across the northern regions of the continent, generating a rainfall belt extending from western Ireland to Russia.

In the UK, this stalling band of rain delivered exceptionally large precipitation amounts, leading to major inundations in the Welsh region.

As Claudia loses strength at the start of the week, the frigid air will move towards the south, delivering to Europe its premier experience of the winter season.

Simultaneous Occurrences in the state of California

The US state of California encountered a plume of tropical moisture last week, delivering heavy rain and strong winds that led to rapid flooding and landslides in zones impacted by blazes earlier this year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain fell in the southern region of the state on Friday, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on Saturday last.

More than 100mm of rain was deposited on coastal areas of the state's south in all, reaching a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

Such a weather system is a plume of hot, humid air originating from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Burn scar areas including Palisades and Altadena region suffered the most severe the sudden floods and earth movements, leading to evacuations.

In other parts of the state, a 71-year-old man passed away after his vehicle was swept off a submerged bridge, and a child of seven years and her father were swept into the ocean by large waves on the the state's central shoreline.