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Portugal and Spain are once more recovering from widespread flooding following Storm Claudia delivered torrential downpours and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This weather system formed from an area of low pressure that had beforehand ushered in unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through eastern parts of Canada and the American north-east in early November.

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

Effects in the Iberian Peninsula

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with 80-150mm of rain pouring down along its west coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday evening as a slow-moving band of rain drifted across the western areas of the peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on Thursday brought flooding to Portuguese localities where an elderly couple perished in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they rested.

Stormy conditions continued into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a camping ground and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in Portugal's south on Saturday last week, claiming the life of an British woman aged 85 and wounding 28 individuals.

Wider Effects across the European continent

The storm produced more extensive impacts across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in southwestern France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded November temperature.

By Friday, this tropical air mass met a frigid air system across more northern parts of Europe, creating a band of rain extending from the west of Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this stationary front of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing major inundations in Wales.

As Claudia loses strength at the start of the week, the chilly atmospheric system will advance southward, delivering to Europe its initial glimpse of colder weather.

Related Incidents in the state of California

The Golden State underwent a so-called atmospheric river recently, bringing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that provoked sudden inundations and landslides in regions scarred by wildfires previously in the year.

Over two inches of rain fell in California's southern part on the week's end, with a another 50 millimetres across extensive areas of California on Saturday.

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

An atmospheric river is a narrow band of tropical, saturated air stemming from the tropics or subtropics.

Locations with fire damage including Palisades and Altadena region endured the worst of the flash flooding and earth movements, forcing residents to flee.

Across California, a 71-year-old man lost his life after his automobile was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her parent were swept into the sea by powerful waves on the Central Coast.