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The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of widespread flooding after Storm Claudia unleashed torrential downpours and powerful gusts the previous week.

The Storm's Formation and Trajectory

This meteorological event developed from a low-pressure zone that had previously caused unseasonably early freezing temperatures and snowfall through the eastern sectors of the Canadian territory and the American north-east in early November.

The system tracked eastwards across the Atlantic in the middle of the second week of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, snared in a dip of an ever more meandering air current.

Consequences for Spain and Portugal

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was initially impacted, with three to six inches of rain coming down along its west coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday evening as a sluggish front of rain pushed across the western areas of the peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday led to floods to parts of Portugal where a senior pair died in the city of Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus entered their home as they slept.

Tempestuous weather lasted through the weekend, with a twister ripping through a campsite and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the south in Portugal's south on Saturday last week, fatally injuring an 85-year-old British woman and harming 28 people.

Extended Consequences across the European continent

This system triggered more extensive impacts across the western European nations. By siphoning heated 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 clashed with a frigid air system across the northern areas of Europe, creating a precipitation zone stretching from the west of Ireland to Russia.

In the Britain, this stalling band of rain brought record-breaking rain accumulations, resulting in significant waterlogging in the principality of Wales.

As this weather phenomenon continues to weaken at the start of the week, the cold air mass will move towards the south, providing the continent its first taste of colder weather.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California, USA

California underwent a so-called atmospheric river recently, bringing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that resulted in rapid flooding and debris flows in areas impacted by wildfires in the recent past.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in southern California on last Friday, with a additional two inches broadly over the state on Saturday last.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain fell over coastal areas of Southern CA in aggregate, hitting a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

An atmospheric river is a plume of warm, moist air coming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Regions previously burned including Palisades and Altadena region experienced the most severe the rapid inundations and landslides, forcing residents to flee.

In other parts of the state, a elderly male died after his automobile was carried away from a flooded bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her parent were swept into the sea by powerful waves on the California's Central Coast.