May 31, 2019, 05:51 PM 
Singaporeans who are planning to visit Australia to escape from the sweltering weather here, brace yourselves for the chilly weather.
Southeastern Australia recently experienced unprecedented freezing temperatures before the start of winter. It was the coldest May recorded in the last two decades.
Unprecedented temperatures on May 29, 2019
Temperatures in Melbourne and the rest of the state of Victoria hit an all-time low of 10.6ºC in the early afternoon of May 29, 2019.
A road leading to Mount Buller in Victoria, Southeastern Australia. Photo by @antsharwood / Twitter
Ok so it's 7C at 3:45pm and 3 days until officially winter #melbweather #melbourneweather #melbourne pic.twitter.com/uypoy2Ezdr
— VelvetTeaLeaf (@VelvetTeaLeaf) May 29, 2019
It's a little bit chilly in Melbourne. #MelbourneWeather https://t.co/LS7TKnAHit
— Twitter Moments Australia (@MomentsAU) May 29, 2019
The temperature in Melbourne proceeded to plummet further to 6.8ºC by 4:00pm on the same day, marking the first time temperatures in May dropped to such a low since 2000, reported The Age.
Ballarat, a city in the west of Melbourne, experienced even colder temperatures, hitting a maximum temperature of 5.7ºC at 10:30am.
This marks May 29 as the coldest May day in Melbourne since 2000 as well.
However, the windy conditions in both cities meant that the "feels like" temperatures were 3ºC lower than they actually were.
r u sure im still in australia rn???? #Melbourne #melbweather pic.twitter.com/U420jHpsn7
— pheb (@phebexxu) May 29, 2019
Australia's capital, Canberra, also experienced record-breaking temperatures of only 9.6ºC on May 27, 2019, according to news.com.au.
Yesterday's maximum temperature of 9.1 degrees at Canberra Airport was the coolest May day since 2000! 10 degrees and windy today in #Canberra, with a shower or two from the afternoon. Latest forecast https://t.co/LSnhBeyTtT pic.twitter.com/SZ7QOIQiS6
— Bureau of Meteorology Australian Capital Territory (@BOM_ACT) May 27, 2019
Meanwhile in Queensland, its capital Brisbane had unexpectedly chilly mornings as well, with temperatures falling to 4.6ºC on May 31, 2019.
This is how cold it is right now in western Brisbane ... feels like -0.2 😱 #cold #wintershere @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/dR3UJw5Xok
— Melanie Vujkovic (@melanievujkovic) May 30, 2019
Temperatures below 0ºC
Other small towns in Queensland even hit freezing conditions of subzero temperatures.
Abc News reported that the towns of Applethorpe, Oakey and Dalby all experienced their coldest May mornings.
Temperatures in Applethorpe fell to -6.1ºC, 2.1 degrees lower than its previous record 13 years ago.
Dalby had its coldest morning since 1911, of -3.6ºC, while temperatures in Oakey dropped to -4.4ºC, 0.3 degrees colder than its previous record too.
The extreme cold end to autumn also brought about sufficient snowfall for an early opening at a couple of ski-resorts in Australia:
https://twitter.com/mtbuller/status/1133946804448272384
class='fb-post' data-href='https://www.facebook.com/MountBawBaw/posts/2464665640222296'>
Another cold front coming
The unexpected chilly weather was attributed to two cold fronts from Antarctica moving across Australia.
Cold fronts are cold masses of air that can span up to several hundred kilometres. As they advance, they displace warmer air, which usually results in showers and thunderstorms.
One cold front had already passed through on May 27, 2019 while the second, stronger front is expected to sweep through Tasmania and up towards Victoria, said a forecaster from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.
For those who like the more technical view of their cold & windy weather, here you go. To get a sense of what it means where you are, check out current observations for #NSW & the #ACT here: https://t.co/BdcVJXSN2Y & compare the Temp column with the App Temp (actual v feels like) pic.twitter.com/aRpv1rZChw
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) May 29, 2019
Here's what it looks like from satellite footage. Australia's land mass is outlined in pink.
An impressive cold, unstable airmass approaches #Victoria. Strong & squally winds, showers, wintry hail & thunder ⚡ Wednesday Snow above 600m elevation and Alpine blizzards 🌨️ A full suite of public, marine and aviation warnings current. More details at https://t.co/HLs2UYFQyQ pic.twitter.com/hd6TXSWtYP
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) May 28, 2019
As a result of the fronts, meteorologists predict that strong winds and gales are to be expected along several New South Wale coasts. Surf conditions there have been declared hazardous.
So if you are going to Australia, do check weather conditions beforehand and bring plenty of warm clothes.
On the other hand, Japan has hit its hottest May day ever recently.
Top photo by @antsharwood / Twitter and @ironman_peter / Twitter