The Met Office has responded to claims the UK is set to face the 'coldest winter in 100 years'.
According to Exacta Weather, a long range weather forecaster, there could be blizzards on Christmas Day followed by a freezing cold January.
Reports in The Express said the UK could see "some type of 100-year cold or snow records being breached this winter".
But weather experts at the Met Office have said their long-range predictions are completely different.
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The national weather forecaster said temperatures are likely to be above average for the time of year.
A Met Office spokesman told ChronicleLive : "At the the moment, the longest range we are looking at is January, but this is not a forecast, it's a probability.
"We're probably looking at milder than average conditions - so, not the coldest for 100 years, or a collapsed polar vortex."
According to the long range weather forecast for the North West there could be some wintry showers at times in the north, between December 8 and December 22.
However, a wet and rainy Christmas is looking far more likely than snowfall.
It said: "Widespread frosts and ice are also likely. There looks to be a change around mid-month to milder conditions, although the timing is very uncertain.
"This change looks likely to bring milder and wetter conditions across most parts of the UK, allowing temperatures to recover to around average, or perhaps slightly above.
"The wettest conditions are likely to be in the north and west, with an increased likelihood of drier spells in the south and southeast.
"Colder interludes are still possible, mainly in the north."
The Met Office said the amount of snowfall expected during December could not yet be forecast.
