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The Iberian nations are again battling the aftermath of widespread inundation after Storm Claudia brought heavy rain and powerful gusts over the past seven days.

The Storm's Origin and Path

The storm system formed from an area of low pressure that had earlier driven unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through the eastern sectors of Canada and the north-eastern United States at the start of November.

Claudia moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean over the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the north-west of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, trapped within a trough of an progressively more wavy air current.

Consequences for the Iberian Peninsula

Galicia in north-west Spain was hit first, with 80-150mm of rain pouring down along its western coastline in just 24 hours up to Wednesday evening as a leisurely moving system of rain drifted across the western sectors of the Iberian peninsula.

Further showers and thunderstorms on the following Thursday caused inundations 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.

Unsettled atmospheric states continued into the weekend, with a twister devastating a campsite and a adjacent hotel in the town of Albufeira in southern Portugal on Saturday, killing an 85-year-old British woman and wounding 28 individuals.

Broader Impacts across the European continent

Claudia had wider effects across the western European nations. By drawing warm air from the subtropics, the system helped temperatures in southwestern France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the state's maximum ever November temperature.

By Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body met a chilly atmospheric body across the northern areas of Europe, generating a band of rain running from western Ireland to the Russian Federation.

In the United Kingdom, this stalling band of rain delivered record-breaking rain accumulations, resulting in severe flooding in the Welsh region.

As this weather phenomenon loses strength in the coming days, the cold air mass will advance southward, giving Europe its initial glimpse of winter.

Related Incidents in California, USA

California encountered a so-called atmospheric river the previous week, causing intense precipitation and powerful winds that resulted in flash flooding and mudslides in regions scarred by blazes in the recent past.

More than 50mm of rain fell in California's southern part on the week's end, with a additional two inches widely across the state on Saturday last.

Over four inches of rain accumulated over coastal parts of Southern CA in aggregate, hitting 200mm overall in spots on high ground.

Such a weather system is a narrow band of warm, moist air originating from the equatorial or near-equatorial zones.

Burn scar areas including Pacific Palisades and the town of Altadena suffered the worst of the sudden floods and mudslides, forcing residents to flee.

Elsewhere in California, a elderly male lost his life after his vehicle was washed off a submerged bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her dad were pulled into the sea by big swells on the the state's central shoreline.