Australians want you to know they are very, very cold

A snow making machine in Mt Buller.
A snow making machine in Mt Buller.
Image: Mt Buller

If Australians aren't complaining about the heat, they are complaining about the cold. A good weather whinge never goes astray in the lucky country, despite average temperatures sitting in the mid-20s.

On Tuesday, parts of the nation woke to temperatures that would be described locally as "bloody freezing." A statement that generally means it is time add a scarf to your T-shirt and shorts ensemble.

The phrase "bloody freezing" in Australia is normally followed with the definite statement: "It's snowing somewhere." This could mean in a place half way around the world, but this week the chill was coming from closer to home.

The Victorian snow region of Mt Buller awoke to 8 centimetres of soft powder covering the ground on Tuesday, following a dumping on Monday. Snow also fell on Monday in regions of New South Wales, Tasmania and Australia's capital city, Canberra.

But it isn't just the snowfields that have copped a blasting, according to the Weather Zone. In a moment that would make Londoners shake their heads in disgust, Sydney moaned through a 6 degrees Celsius morning. To be fair, it was the coldest morning since 1987 and Sydneysiders consider a cardigan a winter jacket. Adelaide also shivered through a minimum of 3 degrees Celsius this morning — a temperature not seen this early in the year since 1986.

Victoria and Tasmania have also been hit with freezing conditions, but haven't set any records and are generally dressed appropriately compared to their northern neighbours. The only places that could get away with a claim to pain are Canberra, at -7 degrees Celsius, Young, at -4.4 degrees Celsius, and Parkes, which hit -3.4 degrees Celsius overnight.

But in these times of life or death, it doesn't hurt to be prepared for the worst.

1. Dress properly

2. Write SOS messages in the frost

3. Share photos of the shocking temperatures

4. Switch on the snow machines

5. Find a sunny spot to thaw

6. Keep things in perspective

7. Get your priorities sorted

-4 degrees = frozen beer #countrylife #winter #frost #shitiseeinorange

A photo posted by hayley (@hayleyyjt) on

8. Look on the bright side

9. Be thankful you don't live in Tasmania

The only state that should be complaining.