It was highly probable, it said, that this winter will be drier too than last year, which was much wetter than average.

The 1971 to 2000 average winter temperature for the UK was 3.7 degrees Celsius (38.66 Fahrenheit).

The Met Office sees a 45 percent chance of temperatures during the December to February period averaging more than 4.3 degrees Celsius, a 30 percent probability of them falling between 3.4 and 4.3 degrees, and a 25 percent chance of the average temperature falling below 3.4 degrees.

Global warming means long-term averages for both summer and winter are becoming less relevant as temperatures in both seasons have been higher than average in recent years.

"Most of the winters in the last 10 years have been relatively mild, with last winter being the second warmest on record," said Rob Varley, director of government business at the Met Office.