The MCG will be bathed in sunlight bouncing off players’ jumpers in Melbourne this AFL grand final weekend, while footy fans in Brisbane and Sydney pull out their raincoats.
Melbourne is slated for a sunny and settled grand final day on Saturday as the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions fight for the premiership flag.
As of Wednesday, the Bureau of Meteorology was forecasting a 5 per cent chance of rain for grand final day, with a minimum temperature of eight degrees and a top of 22 degrees.
“We’re looking at a cracking afternoon, a high of about 22 degrees, so just about bang on for this time of year; a nice, sunny day,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Angus Hines said.
“Perhaps a little bit of a cool night after celebrating the grand final but all in all, some cracking conditions forecast for the match.”
The sunshine is expected to arrive just in time for the grand final, with rain persisting in Melbourne on Wednesday and Thursday, before clouds part for Victoria’s pre-match public holiday.
“There’s a little bit of nasty weather moving through before [Saturday] with some rain and cooler temperatures to round out this week but that all looks to clear up pretty early on Friday,” Hines said.
A minimum temperature of six degrees is forecast for Melbourne on Friday, with a maximum of 17 degrees for players and fans attending the pre-match parade.
The sunshine is not expected to linger after the big match, though, with up to 7 millimetres of rainfall forecast for Melbourne on Sunday, before the rain continues into next week.
Showers are forecast in Melbourne on Monday and Tuesday next week, with top temperatures of 21 degrees and 17 degrees, respectively.
“We’ll have the next weather system, another cold front, rolling through on Sunday,” Hines said.
“That one will bring another line of wet weather and another pulse of some slightly colder conditions as we kick off next week a little bit chillier and [with] a few showers around.”
Meanwhile, the home of the Swans in Sydney is tipped to receive up to 25 millimetres of rain on Friday, up to 9 millimetres on grand final day and 2 millimetres on Sunday.
The temperature in Sydney is expected to reach 21 degrees on Saturday.
Hines said Sydney would get some “quite nasty” weather to round out this week, but most of the rain would clear out on Friday.
“By the time the grand final weekend rolls through for Sydney, [it will be] a brighter day [but] still a little bit on the chilly side, and one or two showers are possible on Saturday,” Hines said.
“Brisbane is probably the spot where, if you’re planning a watch party for the game on Saturday, you might want to make sure that everyone’s indoors and undercover. That’s looking like the spot with the most significant chances of seeing some wet, and possibly even stormy, weather around those game hours on Saturday [afternoon].”
Showers could strike in Brisbane at any time on Saturday, Hines said.
The city is tipped to reach 25 degrees on Saturday, and 28 degrees post-grand final on Sunday.
