easterlies or north-easterlies develop”.

Mr Madden said: “Huge swirly low-–pressure systems also offer the potential for widespread disruption from heavy snowfall across many parts of the UK including the South, as they clash with the predominant cold air.”

He warned of “frequent and prolonged cold spells with heavy falls of snow from blizzard-like conditions”, with Scotland and the North braced for the worst of the weather.

Paul Michaelwaite, forecaster at Netweather, warned “widespread” snowfall could be seen as early as November. “We are looking at October being cooler than average, and November looks like another cold one, with temperatures below what we would normally expect. “December looks on the cold side, although we are not looking that far ahead yet.” Mr Michaelwaite added: “Over the past four or five years November snow has not been rare at all,

and with temperatures below the average there is the chance of some widespread falls.”

The Met Office said the beginning of October would see colder-than-average nights bringing the chance of overnight frosts. The Midlands and the South-east would bear the brunt of the cold snap.

Although it is still too early to –predict, there are hints that a chilly autumn could be a prelude to another big freeze similar to that of last year.

Britain was thrown into chaos as freezing conditions and heavy snowfalls paralysed transport networks and brought airports grinding to a halt.

Parts of the UK saw up to 30 inches of snow. Temperatures plunged to -19C (-2.2F) in some areas.