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The Iberian nations are again recovering from extensive inundation after Tempest Claudia brought torrential downpours and powerful gusts the previous week.

Claudia's Genesis and Journey

This meteorological event developed from an area of low pressure that had beforehand ushered in unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through the eastern sectors of Canada and the American north-east at the start of November.

This storm moved eastward across the Atlantic in the middle of the second week of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian region, trapped within a trough of an increasingly amplified air current.

Effects in Iberia

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with three to six inches of rain pouring down along its Atlantic coast in just one full day up to Wednesday evening as a slow-moving band of rain drifted across the western areas of the region.

Further showers and thunderstorms on Thursday caused inundations to Portuguese localities where an elderly couple perished in the city of Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River invaded their residence as they slept.

Unsettled atmospheric states persisted into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind ripping through a camping ground and a adjacent hotel in Albufeira in the south in the Algarve region on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an elderly British lady and injuring two dozen and eight persons.

Broader Impacts across Europe

Claudia had more extensive impacts across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system assisted in raising temperatures in southwestern France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the state's maximum ever November temperature.

By the following Friday, this warm and humid air mass clashed with a cold air mass across more northern parts of Europe, forming a precipitation zone stretching from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.

In the UK, this stationary front of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, resulting in severe flooding in Wales.

As this weather phenomenon loses strength at the start of the week, the cold air mass will move towards the south, giving Europe its premier experience of colder weather.

Related Incidents in California

The Golden State encountered an "atmospheric river" last week, delivering heavy rain and powerful winds that provoked flash flooding and landslides in zones impacted by forest fires earlier this year.

In excess of 50 millimetres of rain fell in California's southern part on Friday, with a another 50 millimetres widely across the state on Saturday.

In excess of 100 millimetres of rain accumulated over coastal areas of southern California in all, reaching a full 200 millimetres in spots on high ground.

This meteorological feature is a narrow band of tropical, saturated air stemming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades area and Altadena region suffered the most severe the flash flooding and earth movements, leading to evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a elderly male died after his car was swept off a flooded bridge, and a child of seven years and her father were swept into the ocean by powerful waves on the California's Central Coast.