Recently, we've been shivering through the kind of cold temperatures that not even a Uniqlo cashmere crewneck can stave off. But before you start Googling “cheap flights to Europe,” we have some news: the worst is yet to come. This Saturday is the winter solstice, the shortest day (and longest night) of the year — a personal attack on those of us hanging on by a single woollen thread this season.

And to add insult to injury, meteorologists want you to know this isn’t even peak winter. That actually won't be here until mid-July, thanks to a scientific phenomenon called seasonal lag. Below, we're breaking down what it means, including how cold you can expect to get.

Why isn't the winter solstice the coldest day of the year?

Every winter (this year, it's June 21) the Earth hits a dramatic tilt. The winter solstice is when the Sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky, tracking directly over the Tropic of Cancer. For us, that means we experience the least amount of sunlight all year. Each city will get the following ours of daylight this year:
Hobart: Just 9 hours and 1 minute of daylight – the shortest day of all capital cities.

• Melbourne: 9 hours and 32 minutes.
• Canberra: 9 hours and 46 minutes.
• Adelaide: 9 hours and 48 minutes.
• Sydney: 9 hours and 54 minutes.
• Perth: 10 hours and 3 minutes.
• Brisbane: 10 hours and 24 minutes.
• Darwin: 11 hours and 24 minutes.

It seems like less sunlight should mean colder weather, but that’s not quite how it works. After the winter solstice, the days start to get longer again — but the ground and ocean stay cold for a while. They hold onto the chill from previous weeks, and slowly release it back into the air. This delay is known as seasonal lag. That’s why temperatures usually keep dropping into July, even though the sun is coming back. So while June feels cold, the real chill often hits a few weeks later.

So, how cold will it get?

That depends where you are. Coastal cities like Sydney, Perth and Melbourne typically hit their coldest temps in the second or third week of July. In Tasmania and the southern coast of WA, you might have to wait up to five weeks post-solstice for the lowest temperatures. Inland regions, like the central interior, get cold faster.

Over 90 per cent of Australia sees its coldest night between July 11 and 21. So if you were thinking of making a dash for Europe, that’s your window.

Wondering how you'll survive the cold? We've rounded up our favourite winter recipes, to warm you from the inside out, and the winter fashion brands we're rugging up in.

Feature image from Malice (1993), via Instagram.