The rain was torrential. Again.

A thick band of dark blue spread across the weather map of Britain yesterday.

Behind it came a trail of devastation.

On the Isle of Man flooding so bad a helicopter was deployed while heavy water on the ground crippled roads and railways as far apart as London, Carlisle and the Midlands of England.

That came after roads in the north of Scotland had been turned in to impassable torrents over the weekend.

And yet this was just the beginning. Forecasters are predicting two week’s rain in just an hour when the tail end of Lorenzo makes landfall in Britain and Ireland later this week.

Lorenzo has been no ordinary storm. Now off the Azores in the mid-Atlantic, the once category five hurricane is the most intense system of its kind to reach this far north-east.

Climate scientists have long warned that global heating would spark more intense, more frequent and more erratic extreme weather events.

Weather watchers are usually reluctant to link any single event to the current climate emergency.

READ MORE: Hurricane Lorenzo: Will Scotland be affected? 

However, Lorenzo has got them talking. That is because the storm is being fuelled by water that is warmer than usual.

Hurricane expert Brian McNoldy of the University of Miami, was cited in Forbes spelling out just how unusual the storm is.

The water, Mr McNoldy said, is “about 1°C warmer than average... just enough to give it that extra jolt”.

Andrew Latto, an expert at America’s National Hurricane Centre, told The New York Times how the storm came about. “You had warm waters, low shear, and there’s a decent amount of moisture,” he said. “It’s a delicate balance.”

The Azorean government was last night bracing itself for Lorenzo.

Mr Lotto’s centre said the storm would bring rain that “could cause life-threatening flash flooding” on the islands.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for Wales, southern England, East Anglia and the Midlands for yesterday evening for heavy showers and disruption caused by flooding.

Meteorologists have said the slow moving clouds yesterday could bring rainfall totals of as much as 1.6in to 2in in a couple of hours in some places.

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said: “This could lead to the potential for flash flooding quite quickly.”

Mr Madge expected heavy downpours to die out on Tuesday night, when a ridge of high pressure was expected to push down temperatures with the potential for a grass frost in some northern areas.

But he said a day of fine weather today would give way to further wind and rain as what is left of Hurricane Lorenzo - the huge storm currently threatening the Azores - lashes the UK from later on Thursday.

At 10.30am yesterday there were 70 flood warnings and 184 flood alerts in force.

Tiny Isle of Man was among the places worst affected yesterday.

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A helicopter was brought in to help people trapped in houses on the Isle of Man after a river burst its banks causing “horrendous conditions”.

A Coastguard helicopter was pictured over the village of Laxey, on the east coast of the island, as floodwater from an eponymous river surged through the streets, leading to police declaring a “major incident”.

Local police on the Isle of Man said on Facebook: “Glen Road between the upper and lower bridges has flooded severely. Several vehicles have washed away. Persons are trapped in at least three houses.

“Fire Rescue and Coastguard are on scene with fast water rescue teams.

“A major incident has been declared with all government agencies helping out.

“We are asking that any persons trapped go up stairs and monitor media.”

The village, which is about four miles north of the capital Douglas, appeared to be worst hit, although police also reported problems on the coast road and in Onchan as well as a landslip on the mountain road.

The force said: “While we assess the full impact of the rain and flooding, we suggest that all non-urgent travel is avoided.”

One witness, Julie Graham, said on Twitter: “Coastguard helicopter on Laxey football pitch. Horrendous conditions, river has burst it’s banks, people trapped in their houses.

“The emergency services are doing an amazing job.”

Meanwhile, back on the British mainland, Northern Rail said the Maryport to Carlisle line was badly affected, with replacement bus services operating in some sections.

It added that the line is also blocked between Hexham and Carlisle following a reported landslip at Wetherall.

There has also been flooding at Thackley, between Leeds and Carlisle.

A spokesman said: “Heavy rain and flooding is, again, impacting Northern’s ability to operate services this morning.

“Delays and short-notice cancellations are likely across the region as rain continues to fall on already soaked ground.”

Storm Lorenzo is expected to affect Scotland less than England and Ireland.

Its intense winds should have died down before it reaches Europe, forecasters said. It is very unusual for tropical Atlantic storms to have much force left in them when they reach this archipelago.

It is only two years since another hurricane downgraded to a storm, Ophelia, lashed Portugal and Ireland in 2017 before hitting Scotland and then even Estonia.

Tens of thousands of homes north and south of the Irish border lost power in the storm.

Scientists had a difference of opinion over whether Ophelia was a symptom of a warming Atlantic or just the result of natural variability in storms.

Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency said its modelling of climate change predicted “an increase in the frequency of such storm events.”