Winter is coming - and it is set to be wetter and windier than usual.

That is according to the Met Office's latest winter outlook, which has put contingency planners on alert to expect high winds and heavier rainfall than usual.

And after storms such as Hurricane Gonzalo battered much of the UK last month, forecasters have warned of more weather fronts heading in from the Atlantic, signalling possible disruption.

A Met Office statement 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 though, at least until the new year, which is predicted to bring cold snaps.

The statement said: "As the outlook covers the transition from autumn into winter, there can be big changes in how UK weather is influenced by prevailing weather patterns during the period."

Confidence in how the weather patterns will develop later in the period reduces and this is reflected in the outlook when it states "the risk of occasional colder outbreaks increases later in the period".

In the more immediate future, the weather experts suggest 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."

For a 7-day weather forecast for Middlewich, click here