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

But all is not as it seems. Respected weather watchers the Met Office have rubbished 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.

The 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.

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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.

But 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.