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The Iberian nations are again recovering from widespread flooding after Storm Claudia unleashed heavy rain and powerful gusts last week.

The Storm's Formation and Trajectory

This meteorological event developed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had earlier ushered in early season cold and snowy conditions through the eastern sectors of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern US in early November.

The system tracked eastwards across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the northwestern area of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, caught in the trough of an ever more meandering atmospheric river.

Impact on Spain and Portugal

The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was the first affected, with three to six inches of rain pouring down along its west coast in just a single day up to Wednesday evening as a sluggish front of rain crawled across the western areas of the region.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on Thursday last week brought flooding to areas in Portugal where an elderly couple lost their lives in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River invaded their residence as they rested.

Stormy conditions persisted into the weekend, with a twister ripping through a outdoor lodging area and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the south in southern Portugal on Saturday, claiming the life of an elderly British lady and harming 28 people.

Wider Effects across Europe

This system triggered more extensive impacts across the western European nations. By pulling tropical air from the subtropical zones, the system assisted in raising temperatures in south-west France to 29.8C (85.6F), the state's maximum ever autumn temperature.

By Friday, this tropical air mass clashed with a frigid air system across more northern parts of the continent, forming a rainfall belt stretching from western Ireland to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this stalling band of rain brought very high rainfall totals, leading to major inundations in Wales.

As the storm loses strength early this week, the cold air mass will advance southward, giving Europe its premier experience of the winter season.

Simultaneous Occurrences in California

California experienced an "atmospheric river" the previous week, delivering intense precipitation and strong winds that led to flash flooding and landslides in areas scarred by wildfires previously in the year.

More than 50mm of rain poured down in southern California on last Friday, with a another 50 millimetres broadly over the state on Saturday.

Over four inches of rain accumulated over coastal areas of Southern CA in all, attaining eight inches in total in spots on high ground.

This meteorological feature is a narrow band of tropical, saturated air originating from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades area and the town of Altadena endured the most intense the flash flooding and earth movements, forcing residents to flee.

Elsewhere in California, a elderly male passed away after his automobile was washed off a inundated overpass, and a child of seven years and her father were dragged into the sea by large waves on the California's Central Coast.