FORECASTERS are warning that the UK could be set for one of the coldest winters for a decade – with snow on the way.

But all is not as it seems.

Respected weather watchers the Met Office have played-down the suggestions saying accurate forecasts cannot be made so far in advance.

There have been reports in the national media that we could be set for up to four months of snow as temperatures plummet with heavy snow blizzards.

It follows a memorable winter in 2017/18 - in which Britain was battered by snow as a result of ice-cold Siberian wind, dubbed 'The Best from the East'.

Daily Echo: A bus makes its way through the snow in Southampton.

(Southampton was covered in snow when the 'Beast from the East' battered Britain)

READ: Snow in Southampton: All your pictures as the Beast from the East hits

The new claims come from officials at Exacta Weather who say 'arctic downpours' could arrive as soon as November before the country is plunged into a whiteout lasting a third of a year.

But the Met Office has countered these predictions, saying that accurate weather predictions are only done weeks in advance, rather than months.

The Met Office's Helen Roberts told one newspaper that the likelihood of the average temperature falling into the coldest of the five categories used by forecasters was only around five per cent.

However James Madden from Exacta said: “November is looking like a mixed bag of weather this year and there are signs that amidst stormy weather will be the first proper snowfall, temperatures for the month are expected to possibly be below average.

“All our long range projections have been showing for quite some time that December is likely to be a colder than average month overall and we are expecting several widespread snowy periods early in the month.

“This year we are expecting potentially hazardous winter conditions from early on in the season.”

The Met Office stopped providing long-term forecasts after it was caught out one year by particularly heavy snow and icy conditions.