Weatherprediction

Hi everyone, long time watcher but first time poster. I love the weather and enjoy the discussions on here. I usually do not have any information to add on here and I do not know much about weather forecasting. Just interested, what are the main forecasts predicting for the upcoming winter? I have friends that work at a science institution that I can't name (it is not the metoffice or bbc or any other weather group). But they have a world leading, very highly qualified team, that use latest technology and techniques to predict the weather which they need to be able to do to a very high accuracy. They have been correct for the last few summer and winters and have a solid track record. They are going for a colder than average winter this year for the UK. Not sure how cold or snowy they are forecasting and what signals they are picking up on and I will revert back when I get more information.