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The Iberian nations are again recovering from extensive flooding after Tempest Claudia delivered torrential downpours and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

The Storm's Genesis and Journey

This weather system formed from a low-pressure zone that had previously ushered in unseasonably early freezing temperatures and snowfall through eastern parts of Canada and the American north-east at the start of November.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic in the middle of the second week of November before losing momentum and stopping to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, snared in a dip of an increasingly amplified atmospheric river.

Impact on the Iberian Peninsula

The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was the first affected, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain falling along its Atlantic coast in just a single day up to Wednesday evening as a leisurely moving system of rain crawled across the western areas of the region.

More downpours and stormy weather on the following Thursday brought flooding to areas in Portugal where an older couple lost their lives in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they slept.

Unsettled atmospheric states continued into the weekend, with a twister ripping through a camping ground and a adjacent hotel in the town of Albufeira in Portugal's south on the weekend's Saturday, claiming the life of an British woman aged 85 and wounding 28 people.

Extended Consequences across Europe

This system triggered more extensive impacts across western Europe. By drawing warm air from the warmer regions, the system helped temperatures in southwestern France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the nation's all-time high autumn temperature.

By Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body collided with a frigid air system across more northern parts of Europe, creating a band of rain stretching from Ireland's west to Russia.

In the UK, this halting system of rain delivered very high rainfall totals, resulting in significant waterlogging in the principality of Wales.

As the storm progressively weakens in the coming days, the frigid air will push south, delivering to Europe its premier experience of colder weather.

Related Incidents in the state of California

The US state of California encountered an "atmospheric river" recently, delivering torrential rain and strong winds that resulted in rapid flooding and landslides in regions affected by wildfires in the recent past.

Over two inches of rain fell in California's southern part on last Friday, with a further 50mm broadly over the state on the subsequent Saturday.

Over four inches of rain fell over coastal parts of southern California in all, reaching a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

This meteorological feature is a plume of hot, humid air stemming from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Locations with fire damage including Palisades and the town of Altadena endured the most severe the flash flooding and landslides, prompting evacuations.

Across California, a 71-year-old man died after his car was carried away from a inundated overpass, and a young girl aged seven and her dad were swept into the sea by big swells on the Central Coast.