As Liverpool heads into the middle of summer and temperatures start to sizzle, the city's troubled council is preparing itself for an unseasonable storm.
The next few weeks could bring some of the council's recent problems to a thunderous crescendo, with two explosive reports due to be published that could have far reaching consequences for the authority, its under-pressure leaders and the city they govern.
Liverpool Council's problems are well documented and seem to grow by the day. Four government commissioners were installed a year ago in the wake of the atrocious findings of a government inspection report led by Max Caller.
