Temperatures to plummet in southeast Queensland as rain forecast for Melbourne Cup day

Blue skies and balmy temperatures in southeast Queensland are tipped to make way for showers and storms on Tuesday for the race that stops a nation.

Ammon Matthews, 7, Liliana Matthews, 10, Lexi Norford, 4, Carter Matthews, 5 and Auron Matthews, 11, from Yarrabilba enjoy the hot weather at The Spit on the Gold Coast. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The best bet on Melbourne Cup day might be to pack a brolly, with southeast Queensland’s run of perfect weather coming to an end right on cue for the race that stops the nation.

Blue skies and balmy temperatures are forecast to give way to showers and storms on Tuesday, sweeping across the state from the west.

The mercury is predicted to plummet several degrees and Steve Hadley, from the Bureau of Meteorology, said parts of the Granite Belt could even see frost on Wednesday.

“We’ll see temperatures fall to 17C in Toowoomba and 16C in Stanthorpe on Wednesday and there’s potential for frost in elevated parts of the Granite Belt,” he said.

In contrast, the state’s north remains in the grip of a heatwave, with temperatures hitting 42.2 degrees at Burketown on Saturday and forecast to be in the low 40s in areas including Mt Isa and Winton on Sunday and Monday before plunging back into the 30s.

After 30 degree-plus temperatures in the southeast over the past few days, the cool change will see the mercury dip into the mid 20s on Tuesday before slowly rising again.

Mr Hadley said the band of showers and storms should clear the coast quickly, with more sunshine forecast from Wednesday onwards.