What is the weather forecast for the 2024 Melbourne Cup?

There won’t be an umbrella or raincoat in sight on Tuesday as punters flock to Flemington for the race that stops a nation.

Glamorous racegoers are set for a stellar event as temperatures look perfect a day of racing.

Thousands of punters will flock to Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday for the race that stops the nation.

Temperatures are predicted to sit at a comfortable 26C, with just a five per cent chance of rain.

CHEERS: A woman pours a small glass of wine during Melbourne Cup celebrations. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

READY TO RACE: Women dress to impress at Melbourne Cup last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

However, women may need to secure their fascinators extra tight, as the Bureau of Meteorology expects light winds for most of the day that may become northwest to northeasterly 15 to 20km/h in the late afternoon.

Those winds are expected to become light again in the evening.

Conditions are favourable for punters and also jockeys this year compared with previous years, with rain dampening spirits late in the day last year.

Melbourne Cup Day in 2022 was a miserable affair weather-wise, with showers and a maximum of just 13C.

Conditions for Victoria

Even districts like East Gippsland and the South West – which often experience coastal showers when the rest of the state is dry – are set for mild, sunny days on Tuesday.

HIGH SPIRITS: People gather in Footscray Park opposite Flemington Racecourse on Melbourne Cup Day in 2020. Picture: NewsWire / Ian Currie

The pattern then changes quite rapidly on Wednesday across the entire state, as a hot airmass pushes in from the northwest.

Mildura is expected to register the state’s first 40C day of the season – and the first 40C day this early in November in 15 years.

Melbourne should reach 33C on Wednesday before a late shower or two.

The city will then cool off with max temps dipping back to the low 20s for a few days from Thursday onwards under the influence of cooler southwesterly winds.

Originally published as What is the weather forecast for the 2024 Melbourne Cup?