Areas of the UK remain under a UK Health Security Agency cold-health alert
A sharp drop in temperature has been experienced across the UK this week as Arctic air has swept up and down the country, resulting in bitterly cold conditions. The chill has been particularly noticeable overnight, with widespread frost and temperatures in parts of Scotland dropping as low as -11C or -12C.
The Met Office says that the latter part of this week will continue to bring very cold nights. The Arctic air remains in place, and while there will be plenty of dry weather, early mornings and evenings carry a risk of snow and ice.
Forecasters say that as we head into the weekend, a band of rain is forecast to push across the country from Friday night into Saturday morning. This will bring some heavy spells of rain and increased cloud cover, which will help keep overnight temperatures higher than in previous nights.
However, the Met Office says there is still some uncertainty about how the low-pressure system will develop over the weekend, but the overall expectation is for wet and windy weather.
While rainfall totals are not expected to be exceptional, some areas, particularly those that have already seen significant rainfall this month, may be sensitive to further impacts. The weather agency suggests it's a good idea to stay up to date with the latest warnings and advisories.
There are no weather warnings in place across the UK at the moment, five yellow alerts for ice covering much of the country were lifted earlier today, November 21.
However, most areas remain under a UK Health Security Agency cold-health alert. North East, North West and Yorkshire and The Humber are under amber alerts and the rest of the UK are under yellow alerts, both alerts are in place from 12pm Monday November 17 until 8am Sat November 22.
The alerting system provides an early warning when adverse temperatures are likely to impact on the health and wellbeing of the population.
In Liverpool tomorrow, Saturday November 22, Met Office says there will be a high of 10C and a low of 5C, light rain is expected at 12am and there is forecast to be a maximum wind speed of 10mph.
On Sunday November 23, the weather agency says a high of 9C will be reached and a low of 5C. In the North West forecast for tomorrow, it states: "A wet and windy morning with rain clearing eastwards. Brighter behind with showers and winds easing. Feeling less cold. Maximum temperature 9C.
In the outlook for Sunday to Tuesday across the north west, Met Office says: "Remaining unsettled on Sunday and Monday with further spells of rain and showers. Some brighter spells in between, more so on Tuesday. Less cold, especially overnight and often windy."
Looking beyond the weekend, the forecast suggests a likely change in the weather pattern. High pressure may build to the north of the UK early next week, bringing a more settled spell, especially for western areas.
This could mean drier and calmer conditions for a time. However, eastern areas may remain under the influence of low pressure, keeping things wetter and more unsettled there.