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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves battling the aftermath of significant inundation after Storm Claudia unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

This weather system formed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had earlier caused early season freezing temperatures and snowfall through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern US at the start of November.

This storm journeyed east across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, caught in the trough of an progressively more wavy jet stream.

Impact on the Iberian Peninsula

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was the first affected, with three to six inches of rain pouring down along its western coastline in just a single day up to Wednesday night as a slow-moving band of rain drifted across the western areas of the Iberian peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday led to floods to Portuguese localities where a senior pair lost their lives in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus invaded their residence as they slept.

Tempestuous weather continued into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a campsite and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on Saturday, claiming the life of an elderly British lady and harming 28 individuals.

Extended Consequences across Europe

The storm produced more extensive impacts across western Europe. By drawing warm air from the subtropical zones, the system helped temperatures in France's south-west to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the country's highest recorded late autumn reading.

By the following Friday, this warm and humid air mass clashed with a chilly atmospheric body across more northern parts of Europe, forming a rainfall belt extending from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this stalling band of rain produced record-breaking rain accumulations, causing severe flooding in the principality of Wales.

As the storm progressively weakens in the coming days, the chilly atmospheric system will move towards the south, delivering to Europe its premier experience of winter.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California, USA

The Golden State underwent an "atmospheric river" recently, causing torrential rain and powerful winds that provoked rapid flooding and landslides in regions impacted by wildfires in the recent past.

More than 50mm of rain was recorded in southern California on the week's end, with a further 50mm across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday.

Over four inches of rain fell over shoreline regions of Southern CA in all, attaining a full 200 millimetres in locations at higher elevations.

This meteorological feature is a narrow band of hot, humid air coming from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Regions previously burned including Palisades and Altadena experienced the most severe the sudden floods and earth movements, leading to evacuations.

Across California, a man in his seventies died after his car was washed off a flooded bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her dad were dragged into the ocean by powerful waves on the California's Central Coast.