I ski 50-60 days at Mt. Baker, in the heart of the North Cascades in northern Washington. Even in a bad winter they get at least 27-30 feet of snow each year, In a really good winter, it can be over 90 feet (although the average is only a bit over 50 feet). So, yes, I not only plan to be caught in multiple huge storms, I thrive on them. When it's blowing hard and the plow has been busy elsewhere, deep drifts form across the road and there are no other tire tracks, it's like complete wilderness. One night, going up the mountain road, I had to back up and ram a particularly stubborn snowdrift 5 times to get through it because there was an ice layer underneath. That was in the early 1990's when I would buy the most capable winter radials available. They drove terrible on bare/wet pavement and I don't think they worked any better in snow and ice than the current crop of Performance Winter tires (currently running the Pirelli Sottozero 2's which are great).
I've already been through 3 major storms and this winter was late to get going. The P3D with the Sottozero's rips it up in the winter nasties. The cornering in sketchy winter storm conditions is amazing. Winter tires have come a long way baby! And so have cars. The Model 3's low center of gravity limited body roll keep the inside tires gripping during hard cornering. It distributes the weight more evenly to all four tires and the fast acting stability and traction controls benefit from this more even weight distribution. Because it applies the inside brakes to help the vehicle hold the line through corners. With more weight on the inside tires, the electronic controls can work their magic that much better. It's a night and day difference compared to every ICE ski car I've driven. The Model 3 in the snow and ice puts Subaru's to shame.
I drive a lot of twisties on a backcountry State Highway to get to Mt. Baker. Because I make the trip so many times a year I tend to drive the highway in the off-hours when I won't be held up by traffic and I tend to drive it pretty hard. I've been super pleased with the Sottozero's when I'm driving it like I stole it. And, yes, they are a "full winter tire". It's the rubber compound that makes them a real winter tire and allows them to get traction on ice. Around 50 degrees F they get noticeably greasy on bare pavement if you allow them to get too warm (which is what happens if you don't run enough air pressure). But this greasiness is nothing compared to the terrible handling of more extreme winter tires which feel like driving on sponges covered with fish guts (and that's before they get too warm). I've been running the Pirelli's at 46 PSI stone cold and avoid hard continuous cornering and hard acceleration if it's 50F or warmer. Short tread life is most often the result of neglecting air pressure or thinking a low air pressure is needed to maximize traction. I've found higher pressures to work better, not only for traction but to maximize tread life. You can ruin the snow/ice performance of a winter tire by too much heat cycling (running too low of a pressure). It seems that some people think that checking their tire pressure is optional or not very important.
What good is a winter tire that lasts 5 or 6 winters when you can't wait to get them off in the spring? I want a tire that I'm going to enjoy driving and keeps us safe. The Pirelli's take to hard cornering with the precision of a scalpel. If they only last 3 winters, that is a small price to pay.
