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Portugal and Spain are once more battling the aftermath of widespread inundation in the wake of Storm Claudia brought torrential downpours and powerful gusts last week.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

This weather system developed from an area of low pressure that had earlier ushered in unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern regions of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern US at the start of November.

The system moved eastward across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Iberian region, caught in the trough of an increasingly amplified jet stream.

Consequences for the Iberian Peninsula

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with three to six inches of rain falling along its west coast in just a single day up to Wednesday evening as a leisurely moving system of rain crawled across the western sectors of the peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday caused inundations to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple died in the capital Lisbon after rising waters from the bursting Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they rested.

Stormy conditions persisted into the weekend, with a tornado devastating a campsite and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the Algarve region on the weekend's Saturday, claiming the life of an elderly British lady and wounding 28 individuals.

Extended Consequences across the European continent

Claudia had wider effects across Europe's western part. By siphoning heated air from the warmer regions, the system helped temperatures in south-west France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded late autumn reading.

By Friday, this warm and humid air mass met a cold air mass across the northern areas of Europe, generating a rainfall belt running from western Ireland to Russia.

In the UK, this stalling band of rain delivered exceptionally large precipitation amounts, leading to severe flooding in the Welsh region.

As Claudia continues to weaken at the start of the week, the frigid air will push south, giving Europe its initial glimpse of the winter season.

Related Incidents in the state of California

The US state of California encountered an "atmospheric river" recently, delivering intense precipitation and powerful winds that resulted in rapid flooding and mudslides in regions scarred by blazes previously in the year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain fell in the southern region of the state on Friday, with a additional two inches broadly over the state on Saturday.

More than 100mm of rain accumulated over coastal parts of the state's south in total, attaining a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

Such a weather system is a narrow band of tropical, saturated air coming from the tropics or subtropics.

Regions previously burned including Palisades and Altadena region experienced the worst of the sudden floods and mudslides, prompting evacuations.

Across California, a 71-year-old man passed away after his car was swept off a inundated overpass, and a young girl aged seven and her father were pulled into the sea by large waves on the California's Central Coast.