Melbourne is set to record its coolest start to November in more than two decades on Sunday – and the cold and dry weather is likely to continue for several days before heating up later in the week.

The last time temperatures in the city failed to rise above 20 degrees for the first five days of the month was in 1994, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said on Sunday morning.

"The run of temperatures in the teens is set to continue for the first half of the week," he said.

"We're forecasting 18 degrees today, 17 degrees tomorrow, 16 on Tuesday and 19 on Wednesday."