Storm Claudia Delivers More Inundation to Portugal and the Spanish territory
The Iberian nations are again recovering from widespread inundation in the wake of Tempest Claudia brought torrential downpours and powerful gusts last week.
The Storm's Formation and Trajectory
This weather system developed from an area of low pressure that had earlier driven unseasonably early cold and snowy conditions through eastern parts of Canada and the north-eastern US at the start of November.
This storm moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula, caught in the trough of an increasingly amplified air current.
Consequences for the Iberian Peninsula
The northwestern Spanish region of Galicia was the first affected, with 80-150mm of rain falling along its western coastline in just one full day up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain drifted across western parts of the peninsula.
More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday brought flooding to areas in Portugal where an elderly couple lost their lives in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus invaded their residence as they were asleep.
Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a violent whirlwind devastating a camping ground and a close-by inn in Albufeira in southern Portugal on Saturday, claiming the life of an elderly British lady and injuring two dozen and eight persons.
Extended Consequences across the European continent
The storm produced wider effects across Europe's western part. By pulling tropical air from the subtropics, the system helped temperatures in southwestern France to 85.6 degrees Fahrenheit, the country's highest recorded November temperature.
By Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body collided with a chilly atmospheric body across more northern parts of the continent, generating a band of rain running from Ireland's west to the Russian Federation.
In the United Kingdom, this stalling band of rain brought record-breaking rain accumulations, resulting in significant waterlogging in Wales.
As Claudia progressively weakens at the start of the week, the chilly atmospheric system will advance southward, delivering to Europe its initial glimpse of winter.
Simultaneous Occurrences in California, USA
California experienced a plume of tropical moisture recently, causing intense precipitation and high-velocity gusts that led to sudden inundations and mudslides in zones scarred by wildfires in the recent past.
In excess of 50 millimetres of rain poured down in southern California on the week's end, with a additional two inches broadly over the state on Saturday.
More than 100mm of rain fell over coastal parts of southern California in total, hitting eight inches in total in spots on high ground.
Such a weather system is a plume of hot, humid air stemming from the tropical or subtropical regions.
Burn scar areas including the Pacific Palisades area and the town of Altadena endured the worst of the sudden floods and earth movements, forcing residents to flee.
In other parts of the state, a 71-year-old man died after his automobile was washed off a submerged bridge, and a child of seven years and her father were pulled into the sea by powerful waves on the Central Coast.
