With last touches made to Plate Day outfits ahead of this Saturday's return of the racing event of the year, excitement is at its peak as the big day is now here.
Having had a decent spell, weather-wise, for The Hoppings - mostly good with a few downpours - no doubt race-goers will be eager to know if it is likely to be just as variable today for what is another Newcastle institution. Plate Day is the highlight of the Northumberland Plate Festival when crowds make the most of an opportunity to show off an array of glamorous outfits and headware at Gosforth Park.
Over the years the event has suffered its share of rain but, in true Geordie style, the crowds have always refused to let it spoil the party and have responded by taking along umbrellas which are often colour-coordinated with their outfits so that they become more like fashion accessories. Even so, everyone will be keeping fingers crossed that there won't be any weather spoilers to rain on the parade of those in their finery.
Read more: Plate Day timing and entertainment
Here we've bringing you forecasts throughout the week in the run up to July 1, with regular updates as and when they change. The forecast has already changed since the start of the week and here we bring you up-to-date news, as well as an hour-by-hour forecast when predictions are fine-tuned so keep an eye out here for any more changes.
Here's what we know this Friday about what conditions will be like at Newcastle Racecourse on Plate Day to help you plan what you're wearing and whether you might need to take along an umbrella - or even a waterproof and wellies!
We've been bringing the Met Office weather forecasts for Newcastle Racecourse during the whole Northumberland Plate Festival, which started on Thursday, June 29. For a full guide to Plate Day, including timings and Tom Grennan's post-race entertainment, see here. For rules about food and drink and information about tickets and hospitality packages see here.
Northumberland Plate Festival weather forecast
Thursday, June 29 - weather forecasters' predictions for this first day changed to cloudy conditions and late evening sunshine, making a reasonably positive summing-up of the day, including temperatures at their highest about 18C-19C and risk of rain lower than intially thought, just 10%; wind speeds around 23mph tops later on and that sunshine to round off the day from 7pm. Here's the news for this Friday and what is to come for Saturday.
Friday, June 30 - It wasn't great. After the current cloudy start, there was always going to b a high chance of light rain in the afternoon, from 2pm onwards, rising to a 90% chance of rain around 3pm so there were concerns it would affect the evening entertainment (a nineties set with Vernon Kay as DJ) due to follow when the last of the races finishes around 8.20pm. Temperatures for the day settled around 15C but felt a tad cooler, and it also felt rather humid.
Plate Day, Saturday, July 1
The weather forecast for the main event had changed earlier in the week for the better and took a bit of a turn for the worse with cloudy conditions set to bed in but now the day is forecast to be peppered with sunny intervals (hurrah, so some chance to take selfies showing off those summer outfits, hats and fascinators) but now the risk of some rain has returned. The predictions are summed up by the Met Office as cloudy conditions changing to sunny intervals by lunchtime and around 1pm there's now a 40% risk of rain which then reduces dramatically from 2pm to 10% and then just 5%.
And there's due to be some full-on sun sunshine around 4pm-5pm with a return around 6pm to a spell of cloud before the sun comes back from 7pm and that threat of rain remains tiny throughout the rest of the day, at 5%, which will be a relief for those in frills and feathers. So, in all, it's good news for all racegoers and for Tom Grennan's live show which will start post-race, with the star, fresh from Glastonbury, no doubt a hot attraction in himself on the day.
Wind gusts could get up to 35mph so hang onto those hats just in case. Temperatures are likely to see a high of 18C during the day but it will feel a good five degrees cooler so expect fresher conditions rather than hot and humid. And if you're going out on the town afterwards you'll be glad to know the sun is due to make a proper return from 7pm-9pm. But always remember to keep double-checking the forecast as predicted conditions can change regularly.
