Tempest Claudia Delivers More Flooding to Portugal and Spain

The Iberian nations are again recovering from extensive inundation following Tempest Claudia brought torrential downpours and strong winds the previous week.

The Storm's Origin and Path

The storm system originated from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had previously ushered in unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of Canada and the American north-east during the beginning of the eleventh month.

This storm tracked eastwards across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before decelerating and halting to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, trapped within a trough of an progressively more wavy atmospheric river.

Consequences for Iberia

Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain pouring 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 sectors of the peninsula.

Additional rainfall and electrical storms on the following Thursday led to floods to Portuguese localities where an elderly couple died in the city of Lisbon after water from the overflowing Tagus River invaded their residence as they were asleep.

Unsettled atmospheric states persisted into the weekend, with a twister ripping through a campsite and a close-by inn in Albufeira in Portugal's south on Saturday last week, killing an British woman aged 85 and injuring two dozen and eight persons.

Wider Effects across the European continent

The storm produced broader repercussions across western Europe. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system contributed to thermometers climbing in southwestern France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the country's highest recorded November temperature.

By Friday, this tropical air mass met a cold air mass across more northern parts of Europe, generating a precipitation zone extending from western Ireland to Russia.

In the United Kingdom, this stationary front of rain brought exceptionally large precipitation amounts, causing severe flooding in Wales.

As the storm progressively weakens early this week, the chilly atmospheric system will push south, providing the continent its premier experience of the winter season.

Related Incidents in California, USA

The US state of California encountered a so-called atmospheric river last week, bringing intense precipitation and powerful winds that led to rapid flooding and landslides in zones impacted by wildfires earlier this year.

More than 50mm of rain was recorded in the southern region of the state on Friday, with a another 50 millimetres across extensive areas of California on Saturday last.

More than 100mm of rain was deposited on coastal areas of Southern CA in total, attaining 200mm overall in locations at higher elevations.

Such a weather system is a narrow band of hot, humid air coming from the tropical or subtropical regions.

Locations with fire damage including Palisades and Altadena region experienced the most intense the flash flooding and landslides, prompting evacuations.

Elsewhere in California, a 71-year-old man passed away after his vehicle was swept off a flooded bridge, and a seven-year-old girl and her father were swept into the Pacific by powerful waves on the the state's central shoreline.