Weather across Merseyside could get colder over the coming days as a warning over "sudden stratospheric warming" is issued.
According to the Met Office, the first few days of 2021 will stay cold and temperatures in Liverpool could drop to as low as-5 °C.
The 10-day forecast shows that this trend will be the same in almost every other area of the UK but things could change quickly over the coming weeks.
Wales Online report that a "sudden stratospheric warming" event in the North Pole could affect the weather in the UK in the next two weeks.
Sudden stratospheric warming takes place 10-50km up in the stratosphere. More often than not (66% of the time), this increases the risk of colder than normal weather 10-14 days later.
The occurrence increases the chance of cold weather, it's by no means a guarantee. How cold it gets and for how long are dependent on the position of high pressure close to or over the UK.
Met Office forecaster Alex Deakin said: "Charts are showing something interesting happening in the next 10 days high above the North Pole.
"The winds high up in the atmosphere are going to drop down and change and that is called Sudden Stratospheric Warming where suddenly high up in the sky about the North Pole temperatures suddenly jump up.
"It can have an affect on the weather across the UK but in another weeks time."
Before that, the first part of January looks drier than it has been, but any showers will be a mixture of rain, sleet and snow.
Mr Deakin said: "Further problems with wintry weather are likely. It is likely to stay frosty with a continued threat of ice.
"Next week the northerly winds will get replaced with easterly winds, but don't get too excited about that, not all easterly winds are the same."
Mr Deakin said that northerly winds will keep temperatures low over the weekend, but it will remain mainly dry.
He added: "The wind direction becomes all important. On Saturday, the west coast of Wales is the place where we could see some further wintry showers.
"The winds will switch around as we go through the weekend, and we will start to see more of an easterly wind and it is eastern areas of the UK that are most likely to see showers on Sunday into Monday.
"The moisture will have gone by the time it hits westerly parts, and there will be more sunshine there. This will remain into the early part of next week."
The forecaster said that this time the easterly winds are likely to come from the eastern Mediterranean rather than from Siberia, like they did in 2018.
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This is what you can expect in Merseyside over the weekend.
This Evening and Tonight:
Dry night across the region with plenty of clear breaks especially across the western areas. Patches of freezing fog.
Frost very likely, becoming more extensive overnight. Minimum temperature -5 °C.
Saturday:
Some dry and bright weather across the region to start. Isolated showers arriving by the afternoon to the south and east.
Mostly dry and cloudy overnight. Feeling cold. Maximum temperature 5 °C.
Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:
Mostly cloudy on Sunday with some wintry showers and fog patches. Similar on Monday and Tuesday with sunny spells and further showers.
Remaining cold, becoming breezy.
