Global warming is not the only cause.

THE record rainfall over Cumbria that caused yesterday's devastating floods cannot be blamed directly on climate change, experts said.

But they warned that Britain was likely to see more extreme weather in the coming years due to global warming.

One meteorologist said the 314.4mm (12.4in) of rain recorded in 24 hours at Seathwaite in Cumbria - 35mm (1.4in) more than the previous record from 1955 - was a "spectacular" amount.

Climate change models suggest that the proportion of intense rainfall will increase as warmer air from rising temperatures means the atmosphere can carry more moisture.

Professor Stuart Lane, executive director of Durham University's Institute of Hazard and Risk Research, said the Cumbria floods had to be taken in the context of Britain's wet climate.

He said: "These are unusual events in many senses, but it is particularly important that we don't see them as exceptional or that we simply assume that climate change is responsible.

"We are a naturally wet country. Historically, evidence identifies years to decades when we have many major flood events and then years to decades when we don't. Many of these most extreme flood events can't be stopped. We can only learn to live with them, and that is hard to do when we haven't experienced them before."

Roger Street, of the UK Climate Impacts Programme, said some recent evidence indicated that downpours would become no more frequent in the future.

But he added: "When it rains, it will rain more heavily."

Data points to the UK experiencing drier summers and wetter winters, but there will continue to be exceptions.

"The climate has always been variable -you do go through drier and wetter spells," he said. "But there is a higher risk that when precipitation falls, it will be more extreme."

Chris Bell, a forecaster with Weatherquest, agreed that a direct link should not be made between the floods and global warming.

"It's probably not good practice scientifically to blame single weather events on climate change," he said.

"That being said, if the globe is indeed warming, you're going to have more heat in the atmosphere. We know that air that is warm is able to carry more water vapour."

PENSIONER IS WINCHED TO SAFETY THE weather also caused disruption in parts of the Scottish Borders and North Northumberland.

A 76-year-old woman, from Wooler, was rescued after being caught in a flood. She had been driving along the B6350 between Wark and Cornhill on Tweed at 11.30pm on Thursday when her car became stuck in rising flood water from the River Tweed.

She left the vehicle and was up to her knees in water before going to higher ground. Her car was eventually fully submerged.

Police were informed and requested the attendance of Northumberland Fire and Rescue service's rapid water rescue unit and the RAF air sea rescue helicopter from RAF Kinloss. The woman was winched to safety and taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where she was given a check-up.

CAPTION(S):

SAFE GROUND Rescuers carry a woman to dry land in Cockermouth. RAF helicopters airlifted at least 50 people from buildings in the town.