Tempest Claudia Brings More Flooding to Portugal and the Spanish territory
The Iberian nations are again dealing with the consequences of widespread flooding after Tempest Claudia brought torrential downpours and powerful gusts over the past seven days.
Claudia's Formation and Trajectory
The storm system originated from a region of depressed atmospheric pressure that had earlier driven early season chilly and snowy weather through the eastern sectors of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern US in early November.
The system journeyed east across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before losing momentum and stopping to the northwestern area of the Spanish and Portuguese landmass, caught in the trough of an increasingly amplified jet stream.
Consequences for Spain and Portugal
Galicia in north-west Spain was initially impacted, with a substantial 80 to 150 millimetres of rain pouring down along its western coastline in just a single day up to Wednesday evening as a sluggish front of rain crawled across western parts of the Iberian peninsula.
More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday caused inundations to areas in Portugal where a senior pair lost their lives in the city of Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus invaded their residence as they rested.
Tempestuous weather persisted into the weekend, with a twister tearing through a outdoor lodging area and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the south in southern Portugal on Saturday, killing an 85-year-old British woman and injuring two dozen and eight persons.
Extended Consequences across Europe
The storm produced wider effects across the western European nations. By pulling tropical air from the subtropical zones, the system helped temperatures in south-west France to nearly 30 degrees Celsius, the nation's all-time high late autumn reading.
By last Friday, this warm and humid air mass clashed with a frigid air system across the northern regions of the continent, generating a band of rain stretching from western Ireland to Russia.
In the Britain, this halting system of rain produced record-breaking rain accumulations, resulting in significant waterlogging in the principality of Wales.
As this weather phenomenon progressively weakens at the start of the week, the frigid air will move towards the south, delivering to Europe its premier experience of winter.
Related Incidents in the state of California
California experienced a plume of tropical moisture last week, delivering intense precipitation and powerful winds that provoked sudden inundations and debris flows in areas impacted by wildfires previously in the year.
More than 50mm of rain poured down in southern California on Friday, with a further 50mm across extensive areas of California on Saturday last.
Over four inches of rain fell over shoreline regions of Southern CA in all, attaining eight inches in total in locations at higher elevations.
An atmospheric river is a concentrated stream of tropical, saturated air stemming from the tropical or subtropical regions.
Regions previously burned including Palisades and the town of Altadena endured the worst of the sudden floods and landslides, forcing residents to flee.
In other parts of the state, a elderly male lost his life after his vehicle was washed off a submerged bridge, and a child of seven years and her parent were dragged into the Pacific by powerful waves on the Central Coast.