Tempest Claudia Brings More Flooding to the Portuguese nation and the Spanish territory
Once again, Portugal and Spain find themselves dealing with the consequences of widespread flooding in the wake of Tempest Claudia brought torrential downpours and powerful gusts the previous week.
The Storm's Genesis and Journey
This meteorological event formed from an area of low pressure that had earlier driven unseasonably early chilly and snowy weather through eastern parts of the Canadian territory and the north-eastern US during the beginning of the eleventh month.
This storm moved eastward across the Atlantic Ocean during the second weekend of November before slowing and stalling to the northwestern area of the Iberian region, caught in the trough of an ever more meandering air current.
Effects in the Iberian Peninsula
Spain's Galicia area in the northwest was hit first, with three to six inches of rain falling along its Atlantic coast in just a single day up to the evening of Wednesday as a slow-moving band of rain pushed across the western sectors of the peninsula.
More downpours and stormy weather on Thursday led to floods to parts of Portugal where an elderly couple perished in Lisbon after floodwaters from the swollen Tagus invaded their residence as they slept.
Stormy conditions continued into the weekend, with a twister ripping through a camping ground and a nearby hotel in Albufeira in the south in Portugal's south on the weekend's Saturday, fatally injuring an elderly British lady and wounding 28 people.
Extended Consequences across Europe
The storm produced more extensive impacts across western Europe. By siphoning heated air from the subtropics, the system assisted in raising temperatures in France's south-west to 29.8C (85.6F), the nation's all-time high late autumn reading.
By Friday, this hot and moist atmospheric body clashed with a cold air mass across the northern areas of Europe, creating a precipitation zone stretching from western Ireland to the Russian Federation.
In the Britain, this stationary front of rain delivered very high rainfall totals, leading to significant waterlogging in the principality of Wales.
As this weather phenomenon continues to weaken at the start of the week, the frigid air will advance southward, delivering to Europe its initial glimpse of the winter season.
Related Incidents in California
The Golden State encountered a so-called atmospheric river last week, causing torrential rain and high-velocity gusts that led to rapid flooding and landslides in regions impacted by forest fires in the recent past.
In excess of 50 millimetres of rain was recorded in the southern region of the state on the week's end, with a additional two inches broadly over the state on Saturday last.
Over four inches of rain fell over coastal parts of southern California in total, reaching a full 200 millimetres in areas of elevated terrain.
An atmospheric river is a narrow band of tropical, saturated air stemming from the tropics or subtropics.
Burn scar areas including Pacific Palisades and Altadena suffered the most intense the sudden floods and landslides, leading to evacuations.
Across California, a elderly male died after his car was carried away from a submerged bridge, and a young girl aged seven and her parent were dragged into the Pacific by big swells on the Central Coast.
