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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves dealing with the consequences of widespread inundation after Storm Claudia delivered torrential downpours and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

The Storm's Formation and Trajectory

This meteorological event formed from an area of low pressure that had beforehand driven early season cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern United States in early November.

The system moved eastward across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the northwestern area of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, caught in the trough of an ever more meandering jet stream.

Consequences for Spain and Portugal

Galicia in north-west Spain was initially impacted, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain coming down along its west coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday night as a slow-moving band of rain crawled across western parts of the peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday caused inundations to areas in Portugal where an elderly couple died in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they slept.

Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a tornado ripping through a campsite and a close-by inn in the town of Albufeira in the Algarve region on the weekend's Saturday, claiming the life of an 85-year-old British woman and harming 28 individuals.

Extended Consequences across the European continent

This system triggered broader repercussions across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system helped temperatures in south-west France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the nation's all-time high late autumn reading.

By Friday, this warm and humid air mass clashed with a cold air mass across the northern areas of Europe, forming a band of rain stretching from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this halting system of rain produced exceptionally large precipitation amounts, leading to severe flooding in the principality of Wales.

As the storm progressively weakens at the start of the week, the chilly atmospheric system will advance southward, providing the continent its initial glimpse of the winter season.

Parallel Events in California

The Golden State encountered a plume of tropical moisture last week, causing torrential rain and strong winds that resulted in rapid flooding and debris flows in regions scarred by blazes in the recent past.

Over two inches of rain fell in California's southern part on last Friday, with a additional two inches widely across the state on Saturday.

More than 100mm of rain fell over coastal parts of the state's south in all, attaining 200mm overall in locations at higher elevations.

This meteorological feature is a narrow band of warm, moist air stemming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Locations with fire damage including Pacific Palisades and the town of Altadena endured the most intense the flash flooding and earth movements, forcing residents to flee.

Across California, a man in his seventies lost his life after his car was carried away from a inundated overpass, and a young girl aged seven and her father were pulled into the ocean by large waves on the the state's central shoreline.