Game II of rugby league's 2024 State of Origin Series kicks off at 8:05 pm in Melbourne this evening, and if you're heading out to the MCG tonight, the weather forecast is for breezy but mostly dry skies.

This Wednesday looks like a classic Melbourne weather day. By that, we mean conditions should be somewhat changeable throughout the day.

But the good news for fans and players is that the showers that skirted the Melbourne area overnight have cleared early on Wednesday morning, as you can see below on the three-hour loop to 9 am.

• A cool but mostly fine day looms ahead with gusty north to northwesterly winds and a top of 14°C.
• By the evening, there's a low to moderate chance of showers blowing in over the city from the northwest, but Melbourne tends to be well shielded from rain coming out of the north, so any showers should be brief and relatively light.

One positive with the wind is that there should be no dew during the match. So if the showers stay away, the playing surface will be perfect for attacking, entertaining footy.

That wind will make things chilly, though. While the temperature is tipped to be 11°C at kickoff and 10°C by the end of the game, the apparent or "feels like" temperature will be 3 or 4 degrees cooler.

As for the temperature inside the NSW dressing room when Michael Maguire's team realises they've lost the series 2-0, that will be positively icy. Then again, that could be the temperature in Billy Slater's Queensland rooms when they realise it is now 1-1 with all to play for in Brisbane on July 17.

We'll stick to forecasting the weather rather than the footy results.