Weather expert Paul Stevens is predicting a “normal” winter for Huddersfield with cold temperatures but little snowfall.

As the Met Office warned of an unusually mild, wet and windy winter, Salendine Nook-based Mr Stevens said he believed the forecast had a different look about it.

The Met Office has said November to January looked set to be dominated by wet and windy weather but Mr Stevens begged to differ.

He said the winter wouldn’t be as mild and as wet as last year and predicted more “typical” conditions.

“It is interesting that the Met Office has gone for that but I think we are looking at a typical winter with normal temperatures,” he said.

“I don’t think we will see the severe cold that we saw in 2009-10 and 2011-12 when we had weeks and weeks of snow.

“Last year we only had a couple of smatterings of snow and even then people were pretty ill-prepared.

“This year we will get snow but we are not talking the amounts seen in those familiar years of 1963, 1947 and 1978.

“There will be some cold snaps and we might get a couple of what I would call disruptive days but nothing more than a typical winter.”

Mr Stevens said he expected a brief snowy blast “soon in December” but added: “Overall I would say it’ll be winter as normal.”

Meanwhile the Met Office warned of stronger winds and heavier rainfall than usual.

After storms such as the remains of Hurricane Gonzalo last month, Met Office forecasters predict more weather fronts sweeping in from the Atlantic.

This image provided by NASA shows Hurricane Gonzalo
This image provided by NASA shows Hurricane Gonzalo

In a statement the Met Office said: “The outlook suggests the continuing risk of our weather coming in from the Atlantic, which brings unsettled conditions, during the first part of the three-month period.”

While the Met Office suggested it was typical of this time of year, the outlook for November through January suggests “spells of wet and windy weather may be more frequent than is typical.”

Temperatures are set to be milder than average at least into the New Year when cold snaps could develop.

In the more immediate future, the Met Office suggests gales and swathes of rain will hit next week and continue well into December.

A forecast until December 8 said: “Bands of more persistent rain may spread in from the west at times but eastern parts should see the driest interludes.

“Windy, with gales possible in places, and temperatures mainly near normal. Into the following week, there are indications of a gradual trend for heavier and more persistent spells of rain to affect eastern Britain.

“Current indications show that low pressure is likely to be located to the west of the UK, and as such the most likely scenario is for unsettled weather to continue in most places as we head into December.”