The Christmas period will be bright and sunny but very cold, with a brisk north-easterly wind pushing the wind chill well below zero, weather bureau Weeronline said on Wednesday.

Christmas Eve will be frosty almost everywhere, with temperatures dropping below zero and falling to between -2° and -5° overnight. Christmas Day will start bitterly cold, with a moderate to strong north-easterly wind making it feel closer to -10° in the morning.

The sky will be clear on December 25 and the sun will shine throughout the day.  In the west and along the northern coast, highs may edge just above 0° but in the south and east, temperatures may remain below freezing all day.

The night into December 26 will again be frosty everywhere and inland areas could see minimum temperatures of -5° to -7°. The day itself will be sunny and a few degrees warmer than Christmas Day. The wind will drope slightly, but it will still feel below freezing for much of the day.

Over the weekend it will become less cold. On Saturday, the wind will switch from the north-east to the north and cloud will gradually increase. It will dry, with daytime highs ranging from about 4° in Limburg to 7° along the coast.

Sunday may start with patchy mist, followed by a mix of cloud and sunny spells. With a light to moderate northerly wind, temperatures will reach between 4° and 6°.

Looking ahead to next week, there will be more cloud and an increasing likelihood of rain. Temperatures are expected to settle around seasonal levels, at roughly 6°.