My first winter (2002) in mine I was 3 miles from home and was surprised by a minor squall. I was very lucky to get home without incident. I've been running Bridgestone LM22's the last 2 seasons and while they will get you around in moderate snow they don't cut it in severe conditions. Go with Bridgestone WS50's. You'll have to back off your driving style in dry conditons but even in heavy snow you'll be able to drive with a degree of confidence. Try putting 100 pounds of something in the trunk also. I use dumbbells.

 

The deductible on the accident you didn't have will pay for the snows...