Looking for the facts about Canadian winter survival? Living in Canada means living with winter, and having the right skills to cope with snowy weather is important. Around southern Quebec and Montreal for example, cold weather starts in the middle of December and will last until the middle of March.

An average January day in Montreal would have a high of -10.4C (13F), and would then get to nighttime lows of -15C (5.2F). Of course, when you add the wind chill to that, it will seem much colder to anyone actually outside. When the wind reaches 30 km/hr (19 m/hr), the temperature can seem twice as cold as what the thermometer actually reads.

Not only is it cold, the days get significantly shorter as well. Again to use Montreal as an example, sunrise on the shortest day of December is at 7:30am and then the sun sets again at just 4pm. And then there is the snow.

The 2007 to 2008 winter season set snowfall records in Montreal, with more than 558 centimeters of snow falling in total. That's more than 18 feet of snow for the winter. Snow banks reached the heights of the street signs and even some roof tops. It's definitely something you should be ready for, as that kind of accumulation can pose its own risks in addition to the cold temperatures. An average winter will bring a total of 7 feet of snow, which is still quite a lot.

And with all that snow, comes the chore of shoveling or plowing it all. If you are going to hire a plowing service, do so before the snow actually arrives or you may find all the local plows are booked solid. For clearing your own driveway or sidewalks, get a good shovel or snow blower. Don't skimp on the snow blower either, if you are going that route. Make sure you get one large enough and powerful enough for the winters in your area.

One particularly unusual winter brought the famous ice storm, that knocked out power through the region for many days. Certainly a difficult situation to be in during the cold of winter.

Are you prepared to drive in the snow? Even a light snowfall can make driving tricky, so everyone on the road needs to take extra care in the winter. Winter tires are vital, and in some provinces, it is actually the law to have your car properly winterized each season. All-season tires are not good enough for proper Canadian winter survival.