Portugal and Spain are once more recovering from significant flooding in the wake of Tempest Claudia unleashed heavy rain and strong winds over the past seven days.
The Storm's Genesis and Journey
This weather system developed from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had previously caused unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern regions of the Canadian territory and the American north-east during the beginning of the eleventh month.
The system tracked eastwards across the Atlantic over the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the northwestern area of the Iberian peninsula, caught in the trough of an progressively more wavy jet stream.
Impact on Spain and Portugal
Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was initially impacted, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain coming down along its Atlantic coast in just one full day up to Wednesday night as a leisurely moving system of rain crawled across the western areas of the peninsula.
Additional rainfall and electrical storms on the following Thursday brought flooding to areas in Portugal where an older couple died in Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River entered their home as they slept.
Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a tornado ripping through a camping ground and a close-by inn in Albufeira in the south in Portugal's south on Saturday, fatally injuring an British woman aged 85 and harming two dozen and eight persons.
Extended Consequences across the European continent
The storm produced broader repercussions across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the warmer regions, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in southwestern France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded autumn temperature.
By Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body met a chilly atmospheric body across the northern areas of the continent, generating a precipitation zone running from western Ireland to Russia.
In the United Kingdom, this halting system of rain produced very high rainfall totals, causing major inundations in the principality of Wales.
As the storm progressively weakens at the start of the week, the frigid air will push south, delivering to Europe its initial glimpse of colder weather.
Parallel Events in California, USA
The US state of California underwent a so-called atmospheric river recently, causing intense precipitation and powerful winds that led to rapid flooding and debris flows in zones impacted by blazes earlier this year.
Over two inches of rain poured down in California's southern part on last Friday, with a further 50mm broadly over the state on Saturday last.
In excess of 100 millimetres of rain accumulated over coastal parts of the state's south in all, hitting 200mm overall in areas of elevated terrain.
An atmospheric river is a concentrated stream of tropical, saturated air originating from the tropical or subtropical regions.
Regions previously burned including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena experienced the most severe the sudden floods and landslides, leading to evacuations.
Across California, a 71-year-old man died after his automobile was swept off a flooded bridge, and a child of seven years and her dad were dragged into the Pacific by powerful waves on the California's Central Coast.
