Australian Open 2023 weather: Forecast for each day and what to expect during second week in Melbourne

Weather has always been a major talking point whenever the Australian Open is in action. Generally, the hot and humid conditions in Melbourne are a spot of bother but this time around, it's the possibility of rain and thunderstorms affecting the play that is making the headlines.

Earlier this week, rain halted play on the outside courts and a few matches were forced to be rescheduled. The schedule was congested for a while but things seem okay for the time being.

However, the second week's play might be affected as there is a possibility of rain and storm during the upcoming week according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

While the weather forecast for Saturday (partly cloudy) and Sunday (mostly sunny) seems fairly positive, the same can't be said for the forthcoming days.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, there is a 10% chance of rain on Monday, January 23, particularly between 5 pm and 8 pm. January 24 is the day to watch out for as there is a 40% chance of rain, particularly between 2 pm and 5 pm. There is also the possibility of a thunderstorm on that day

The weather forecast for January 25 reads "partly cloudy" with a 10% chance of rain. January 26 is another day to look out for as the weather is predicted to be cloudy with a 20% chance of rain.

Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the weather pans out and how the Australian Open organizers plan the matches if a rescheduling is needed.

Iga Swiatek on the Australian Open's delayed schedule for Day 3

Iga Swiatek in action at the Australian Open

The Australian Open had to shift a number of matches on Day 2 to Day 3 as they were suspended due to the weather. Iga Swiatek said after her second-round win over Camila Osorio that it was unpleasant for the players to wait the entire day.

"I think it's really bad for the players that had to wait yesterday whole day here because it's really tiring, and they probably are going to have to stay another day on-site," Swiatek said.

She also claimed that while there wasn't much the organizers could do, they could have scheduled the suspended matches earlier on Day 3.

"Well, there's nothing I think the tournament orgnizers can do, but I'm surprised that they didn't put yesterday's matches, like, earlier today on the stadiums, but I don't know how it works, honestly. Maybe they had to, like, maybe they have like TV rights to put, I don't know, seeded players or whatever on the stadiums. I don't know," she added.