wrote in message
ups.com...
But why is a winter that is only likely to be the coldest in 10 years
classed as "severe"? Surely a "severe" winter would be at the very
least one which matched the cold winters of the mid 80s, in other words
it would have to be the coldest in 20 years to at all be called
"severe". Or does "severe" mean "temperatures below the 1961-90
average"?

Nick

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporat...r20050926.html
Indicates the possibility of a 'colder-than-average winter' and is
consistent with -ve NAO forecast and the latest seasonal output from the
dynamical model.

The "66% chance of a severe winter" in the title of this thread looks like
pure spin, to put it politely.

Jon.