🔗 Share this article Tempest Claudia Brings Additional Flooding to Portugal and the Spanish territory Portugal and Spain are once more dealing with the consequences of extensive inundation after Tempest Claudia brought heavy rain and powerful gusts last week. The Storm's Origin and Path The storm system developed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had beforehand caused early season cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern US at the start of November. This storm moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of the second week of November before decelerating and halting to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, caught in the trough of an progressively more wavy jet stream. Impact on Iberia The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was initially impacted, with three to six inches of rain falling along its Atlantic coast in just one full day up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain pushed across western parts of the region. More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday last week brought flooding to parts of Portugal where a senior pair lost their lives in the capital Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River entered their home as they rested. Unsettled atmospheric states persisted into the weekend, with a tornado tearing through a outdoor lodging area and a close-by inn in Albufeira in southern Portugal on Saturday last week, claiming the life of an British woman aged 85 and injuring two dozen and eight persons. Wider Effects across Europe Claudia had broader repercussions across western Europe. By siphoning heated air from the subtropical zones, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in south-west France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the nation's all-time high late autumn reading. By Friday, this tropical air mass met a frigid air system across the northern areas of the continent, generating a band of rain stretching from Ireland's west to Russia. In the Britain, this stationary front of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing significant waterlogging in the Welsh region. As the storm loses strength early this week, the cold air mass will push south, delivering to Europe its first taste of colder weather. Parallel Events in California, USA The US state of California underwent an "atmospheric river" the previous week, delivering heavy rain and strong winds that resulted in flash flooding and mudslides in zones affected by wildfires previously in the year. In excess of 50 millimetres of rain fell in California's southern part on Friday, with a another 50 millimetres across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday. More than 100mm of rain fell over coastal parts of Southern CA in all, hitting a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground. This meteorological feature is a narrow band of hot, humid air originating from the tropics or subtropics. Regions previously burned including Pacific Palisades and Altadena suffered the most severe the sudden floods and earth movements, leading to evacuations. Across California, a 71-year-old man passed away after his vehicle was swept off a flooded bridge, and a child of seven years and her father were swept into the ocean by big swells on the California's Central Coast.