It turns out winter can mean vastly different things in different parts of Australia, from temperatures so cold the water inside garden taps freezes, to people simply wearing socks in their thongs to manage the ‘tropical chill’.

We put a simple question out to our social media community earlier this week:

“Finish this sentence: You know it’s cold in your part of Australia when...”

The callout received more than 350 responses, showcasing just how different winter can be across Australia.

Many of the comments focussed on the sub-freezing temperatures that occur in the southern half of the country during winter.

“When your tap freezers mid drip!” - Melody-Lee Rodriguez.

“The hoses are frozen when you go out to fill up animal waters in the morning” - Anne-Maree Elliott.

“There are traffic jams due to everybody coming up to see the snow”- Luke Brown.

“It's snowing in Barrington Tops and your hoses freeze” - Shirley and Luke Sutton

“There’s no taps working inside the house” - Phillip-Michele Tibbles

Image: Taps frozen mid-drip are a sure sign that winter is here. Source: Melody-Lee Rodriguez

While frost, ice and snow are a normal part of winter for large areas of Australia, winter is less severe for many northern parts of the country.

“You have to turn the fan off....” - Denise Moule Norder

“When people in Bundaberg wear socks with their thongs.” - Judy Brett

“When I live in Qld and all the windows are shut” - Sharron Gauder

“When hubby wears two pairs of shorts.” - Valerie Fairfax-Francklin van Rensburg

“When I have to find a jumper, North Qld doesn’t get cold” - Heather Shepherd

As you can see by the comments above, the cooler months in Northern Australia are not exceptionally cold compared to more southern parts of the country. However, the northern tropics have other clear signs that the seasons have changed.

According to the Gooniyandi people of the Fitzroy Valley in the tropical Kimberley region of Western Australia, the appearance of red dragonflies around this time of year marks the start of the dry and cool season.

Image: Dragonflies at sunset in Broome last weekend. Source: @naturepicturetravelscenes / Instagram

If you capture a photo or video of winter at your place, you can share it with us by tagging @weatherzone on social media.