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Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves recovering from extensive flooding after Storm Claudia brought torrential downpours and strong winds the previous week.

Claudia's Origin and Path

The storm system originated 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 United States during the beginning of the eleventh month.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic during the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the northwestern area of the Iberian region, trapped within a trough of an ever more meandering air current.

Consequences for the Iberian Peninsula

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was the first affected, with three to six inches of rain falling along its western coastline in just a single day up to Wednesday night as a sluggish front of rain pushed across the western sectors of the peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday led to floods to areas in Portugal where an older couple lost their lives in the city of Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River flooded their dwelling as they slept.

Stormy conditions lasted through the weekend, with a violent whirlwind tearing through a camping ground and a adjacent hotel in the town of Albufeira in southern Portugal on Saturday last week, fatally injuring an British woman aged 85 and injuring 28 individuals.

Wider Effects across the European continent

This system triggered more extensive impacts across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system helped temperatures in France's south-west to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the nation's all-time high late autumn reading.

By the following Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a cold air mass across the northern areas of the continent, creating a rainfall belt extending from the west of Ireland to Russia.

In the Britain, this stalling band of rain delivered exceptionally large precipitation amounts, resulting in severe flooding in the Welsh region.

As Claudia continues to weaken in the coming days, the frigid air will push south, providing the continent its first taste of the winter season.

Related Incidents in the state of California

California experienced a plume of tropical moisture the previous week, bringing heavy rain and strong winds that led to rapid flooding and mudslides in zones scarred by forest fires in the recent past.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in California's southern part on the week's end, with a additional two inches across extensive areas of California on Saturday.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain fell over shoreline regions of Southern CA in all, reaching a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.

An atmospheric river is a plume of hot, humid air originating from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena region endured the most intense the sudden floods and mudslides, forcing residents to flee.

Across California, a 71-year-old man passed away after his vehicle was washed off a flooded bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her dad were dragged into the Pacific by big swells on the Central Coast.