Yep, winter means different things to different locations. Ask a Canadian what he does in the winter time (late October to March). Personally, my conditions are the prairies which typically means not a lot of snow but the snow turns icy and gets "polished" with wind and more snow. Snow tires don't really help much but winter ice tires like the Blizzak or X-Ice work great because of the softer rubber. Keep your tires inflated at the proper pressure so a tire gauge and foot air pump or compressor come in handy. Ditto for the SPARE TIRE. Those tire inflate-in-a-can products don't work well in the cold weather and muck up your tire pressure sensors.

Nobody uses tire chains around here. A lot of winter troubles will happen because somebody is travelling a bit too fast for the conditions and spin out and find themselves stuck in the ditch. And with the relatively low traffic in the rural areas it can be quite a while before someone can get to you. So as long as you are in cell-phone range it is best to hunker down in the vehicle, keep yourself warm and your vehicle visible. A cell-phone charger should be kept in the car at all times. So should things like charcoal hand warmers / candles / extra clothing / reflective markers / flags / reflective clothing are all great things to have. Obviously you should also have a shovel, sand/kitty litter, tow strap and snow brush/ice scraper.

Food is handy but really not that necessary other than to relieve boredom. Yes the calories are helpful to generate energy and heat but not for a life preserving item. Water is necessary to keep you hydrated, especially if in liquid form but if it is frozen you will spend a while thawing it. I might as well reach out and grab a few mittfulls of snow as that is easier to melt than ice in a bottle! You won't have many hours of sunlight so an alternate light source is high on your list.

Since my vehicle seems to be prone to the gas line freezing, I keep a stash of gas-line antifreeze which doubles as fuel for my alcohol stove. Extra windshield washer fluid. Gas can. Jumper cables (the larger the gauge the better - 4 or 6 gauge 12-16' length please.) Extension cords to plug in the block heater. I also use a "battery blanket" - this term may be foreign to most Americans, let me explain. It is an electric warming pad that encircles the battery and comes with a cord so that it can also be plugged in. It consumes between 75-150 watts and basically keeps the battery several 10's of degrees warmer which allows you to turn over the engine easier. I also practise upsizing the battery - put the largest battery in the vehicle that will fit the battery tray. The more cold cranking amps the better in cold weather. Make sure I also clean the battery terminals. Install a cold-weather bra on the vehicle front so that the cold air won't circulate around the radiator as much (in the old days, I wired a sheet of cardboard in front of the radiator!) A lot of vehicles come with heated front seats - if you have ever been in a car at -40*C and felt the warmth of a heated seat you will know exactly what I mean by "heaven on earth".

Personal protection:
Blankets, parka, overalls, scarf, mitts that will fit over your gloves, balaclava, toques, hoodies, long underwear, extra socks, warm boots, charcoal warmers, face shield goggles to protect your eyes from the direct blast of cold air. Warning: if you come up here with flip flops or crocs I will personally kill you with my laughter! And you WILL DESERVE IT!