Racegoers shiver through coldest Cup Day in nearly 30 years

Parts of the state are bracing for possible snow as Victorians shiver through one of the coldest Melbourne Cup days on record, according to the weather bureau.

An expected top of 14 degrees looked optimistic at Flemington on Tuesday, where the temperature at 12.30pm was recorded as 9.5 degrees, with a “feels like” temperature of just 2.5 as a strong cold front brought wintry weather back to Melbourne.

Race fans in a downpour the 2022 Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday. Credit:Justin McManus

There was a chance of small hail as showers moved in from the west, with up to 5 millimetres expected to fall, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Dean Narramore said.

“It’s going to be a wet lunch and a wet track,” Narramore said on Tuesday for those at Flemington.

While cold weather in November was not unusual the strength of the front was, he said.

It’s forecast to be the coldest race day since 1995 when temperatures at Flemington hit a top of just 13.6 degrees, while in 2017 the top was 15.8 degrees, according to the bureau.

Fans prepare for the wet weather at Flemington Racecourse. Credit:Justin McManus

“[It] goes to show Victoria can have winter weather any time of the year,” the forecaster said.

The higher parts of the state, such as Trentham, Mount Macedon and the Yarra Ranges faced the real possibility of snow, he said.

“It’s getting a bit more unusual, but it’s not unheard of to have snow in November,” Narramore said.

“It’s not common, but we had some snow last November.”

It comes as the bureau confirmed it was the wettest October ever recorded in Victoria with northern parts of the state including Swan Hill, Bendigo and Mildura seeing record falls.

State Emergency Service operations chief Tim Wiebusch said on Tuesday the flood emergency in the state was far from over.

“We are likely to see above-average rainfall for at least another six to eight weeks … it will only take another large rainfall event for us to see our rivers in Victoria go back to major flood levels,” he warned.

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