© Gareth Fuller/PAAshford International station in Kent on December 1st 2010
In October the forecaster privately warned the Government - with whom it has a contract - that Britain was likely to face an extremely cold winter.
It kept the prediction secret, however, after facing severe criticism over the accuracy of its long-term forecasts.
The Met Office eventually issued a public warning about the early onset of winter a month later, just days before snow and ice covered much of Britain and temperatures plummeted to the lowest on record.
Motoring organisations and passenger groups said yesterday that the delay hampered preparations for winter.
It has also been disclosed that the BBC has decided to publish independent assessments of the Met Office's performance on its website.
Roger Harrabin, an environment analyst at the BBC, told the Radio Times: "The trouble is that we simply don't know how much to trust the Met Office. How often does it get the weather right and wrong. And we don't know how it compares with other, independent forecasters.
"Can we rely on them if we are planning a garden party at the weekend? Or want to know if we should take a brolly with us tomorrow? Or planning a holiday next week?
"In a few year's time hopefully we'll all have a better idea of whom to trust. By then the Met Office might have recovered enough confidence to share with us its winter prediction of whether to buy a plane ticket or a toboggan."
The decision to publish the assessment was welcomed by rival forecasters.
Piers Corbyn, the owner of WeatherAction, an independent forecaster, said: "This is a step in the right direction. The Met Office has got it repeatedly and yet it remains the public service forecaster. There needs to be greater competition. I hope this will encourage but it is vital that the assessors and their measurements are independent and objective."
The Met Office stopped making its long-term forecasts public in March after a series of major gaffes.
In 2009 a predicted "barbecue summer" became a washout, while a subsequent forecast of a "mild winter" turned out to be one of the coldest in 30 years.
This winter, however, its seasonal forecast proved more accurate. Mr Harrabin said: "Why didn't the Met Office tell us that Greenland was about to swap weather with Godalming? The truth is it [The Met Office] did suspect we were in for an exceptionally cold early winter, and told the Cabinet Office so in October. But we weren't let in on the secret.
"The reason? The Met Office no longer publishes its seasonal forecasts because of the ridicule it suffered for predicting a barbecue summer in 2009 - the summer that campers floated around in their tents."
Edmund King, President of the AA, said the Met Office had a "public duty" to publish its seasonal forecasts. He said that according to a recent AA survey of 20,000 of its members only 3% of motorists bought winter tyres.
He said: "The Met Office has a public duty to tell us its forecasts so that we can prepare for adverse weather. As it was many motorists were caught out."
A spokesman for the Met Office said: "In late October we informed the Cabinet office that there were early indications of a cold start to winter. Following public research we were told that a monthly outlook would be of more use which is why we now have the 6-15 day and 16-30 day forecast on our website."
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