🔗 Share this article

The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of significant flooding after Storm Claudia brought heavy rain and powerful gusts last week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

This meteorological event formed from an area of low pressure that had previously ushered in early season chilly and snowy weather through the eastern regions of the Canadian territory and the American north-east during the beginning of the eleventh month.

This storm tracked eastwards across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, trapped within a trough of an ever more meandering air current.

Effects in Iberia

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with 80-150mm of rain falling along its west coast in just 24 hours up to Wednesday evening as a leisurely moving system of rain drifted across western parts of the region.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on Thursday brought flooding to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple perished in the city of Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus flooded their dwelling as they slept.

Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a twister devastating a outdoor lodging area and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the Algarve region on Saturday, killing an elderly British lady and injuring two dozen and eight persons.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

This system triggered wider effects across Europe's western part. By drawing warm air from the subtropical zones, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in south-west France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the nation's all-time high November temperature.

By the following Friday, this warm and humid air mass met a frigid air system across the northern regions of the continent, creating a rainfall belt extending from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this stalling band of rain brought very high rainfall totals, causing major inundations in the Welsh region.

As this weather phenomenon continues to weaken in the coming days, the cold air mass will push south, providing the continent its first taste of the winter season.

Related Incidents in the state of California

The US state of California underwent a plume of tropical moisture last week, bringing torrential rain and powerful winds that resulted in flash flooding and mudslides in regions scarred by blazes earlier this year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in southern California on Friday, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on the subsequent Saturday.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain accumulated over shoreline regions of southern California in all, attaining 200mm overall in locations at higher elevations.

An atmospheric river is a narrow band of tropical, saturated air coming from the tropics or subtropics.

Regions previously burned including Pacific Palisades and Altadena experienced the worst of the flash flooding and earth movements, forcing residents to flee.

Across California, a man in his seventies lost his life after his automobile was washed off a submerged bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her father were swept into the ocean by powerful waves on the Central Coast.