Storm Claudia Delivers More Flooding to Portugal and the Spanish territory

The Iberian nations are again battling the aftermath of significant inundation in the wake of Tempest Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and strong winds last week.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

The storm system originated from an area of low pressure that had beforehand driven unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through the eastern regions of Canada and the American north-east in early November.

The system tracked eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean over the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Iberian peninsula, caught in the trough of an ever more meandering jet stream.

Impact on the Iberian Peninsula

Galicia in north-west Spain was initially impacted, with 80-150mm of rain coming down along its western coastline in just a single day up to Wednesday evening as a leisurely moving system of rain crawled across the western sectors of the peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on the following Thursday caused inundations to Portuguese localities where a senior pair lost their lives in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they slept.

Stormy conditions lasted through the weekend, with a twister tearing through a campsite and a close-by inn in the town of Albufeira in Portugal's south on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an 85-year-old British woman and wounding 28 individuals.

Extended Consequences across the European continent

Claudia had broader repercussions across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in southwestern France to 29.8C (85.6F), the state's maximum ever late autumn reading.

By Friday, this warm and humid air mass clashed with a frigid air system across more northern parts of the continent, forming a rainfall belt running from Ireland's west to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this stationary front of rain produced very high rainfall totals, causing major inundations in Wales.

As Claudia progressively weakens in the coming days, the cold air mass will move towards the south, providing the continent its premier experience of the winter season.

Parallel Events in California

California underwent a so-called atmospheric river the previous week, causing heavy rain and strong winds that led to flash flooding and debris flows in regions affected by forest fires in the recent past.

More than 50mm of rain was recorded in California's southern part on last Friday, with a additional two inches widely across the state on Saturday last.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain was deposited on shoreline regions of southern California in all, attaining a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

Such a weather system is a narrow band of warm, moist air coming from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades area and the town of Altadena endured the most intense the flash flooding and earth movements, leading to evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a 71-year-old man died after his car was carried away from a inundated overpass, and a child of seven years and her dad were dragged into the Pacific by powerful waves on the the state's central shoreline.