Melbourne turned on a wet and wild day for the 158th Melbourne Cup, with the weather playing havoc with racegoers' travel and fashion plans.
Heavy rain cleared at Melbourne's Flemington racecourse before the running of the Melbourne Cup, but in the hours before, Victoria's State Emergency Service (SES) carried out more than a dozen rescues.
The storm dumped more rain on Melbourne in two hours than it received in the previous two months.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said the city received a torrent of 35mm from just after 10:00am.
Another 4.4mm also fell before just before 9:00am, when the rain gauges are reset.
The storms prompted 400 calls for assistance to the SES from across the city, with the north-western suburbs suffering some of the worst conditions.
SES crews rescued 14 people from vehicles trapped in floodwater.
The downpour also caused temporary cancellations to the Sandringham and Alamein train lines.
The rain also altered conditions at Flemington Racecourse, where the track was downgraded to a rating of eight out of ten, which is in the "heavy" range.
Yesterday, Melbourne Cup race organisers were being urged to "turn the taps on" by trainer Nick Williams in order to improve what he described as a "ridiculously firm" track.
Racegoers were also affected as many were forced to walk 20 minutes through the rain to get to the racecourse after one of the platforms at Flemington Racecourse Station flooded.
The weather cleared shortly before the Melbourne Cup at 3:00pm, but showers resumed shortly after the race was run.
In the main, racegoers took the wild weather in their stride — elevating the humble umbrella to a race day accessory worth its weight in gold.
