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Portugal and Spain are once more recovering from widespread flooding following Tempest Claudia delivered torrential downpours and powerful gusts the previous week.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

This weather system originated from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had earlier caused unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern US in early November.

The system moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the second week of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, snared in a dip of an increasingly amplified atmospheric river.

Effects in the Iberian Peninsula

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with three to six inches of rain falling along its western coastline in just a single day up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain pushed across the western sectors of the Iberian peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday brought flooding to parts of Portugal where a senior pair perished in the capital Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they slept.

Unsettled atmospheric states continued into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a outdoor lodging area and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in southern Portugal on the weekend's Saturday, killing an British woman aged 85 and wounding 28 individuals.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

This system triggered wider effects across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system assisted in raising temperatures in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded November temperature.

By Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body collided with a frigid air system across the northern regions of the continent, creating a precipitation zone extending from the west of Ireland to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this halting system of rain delivered very high rainfall totals, leading to major inundations in the Welsh region.

As this weather phenomenon progressively weakens at the start of the week, the chilly atmospheric system will push south, delivering to Europe its first taste of the winter season.

Parallel Events in the state of California

The Golden State underwent an "atmospheric river" last week, causing heavy rain and powerful winds that resulted in flash flooding and landslides in zones affected by forest fires earlier this year.

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

Over four inches of rain fell over coastal areas of the state's south in total, attaining eight inches in total in locations at higher elevations.

An atmospheric river is a narrow band of hot, humid air coming from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena suffered the most intense the rapid inundations and landslides, forcing residents to flee.

Across California, a man in his seventies died after his vehicle was washed off a inundated overpass, and a child of seven years and her dad were pulled into the Pacific by powerful waves on the Central Coast.