Importance of snow tires / Types of winter tires
Winter tires feature big blocky treads, which move water and slush more efficiently, and softer rubber that maintains flexibility in cold temperatures. In hot temperatures that softness becomes a liability, which is why you need to swap out winter tires for all-season or all-weather once spring is sprung.
All-weather is a hybrid tire that can cover you in mild conditions, as well as some non-extreme winter conditions.
In a lot of ways, it's the best of both worlds. You're getting strong performance in summer, spring and fall months, similar to the all-season, but you're also getting good performance in the winter season. Plus, winter tires require change over and storage, while all-weather are used all year, so you're unburdened from that winter tires cost.
All-season tires offer optimal performance during spring, summer, and fall. In fact, some companies have begun renaming all-season tires "3 season tires". Unfortunately, this is not an ideal tire for sub-zero, snowy winter conditions. These tires tend to lose grip at temperatures below 7 degrees Celsius.
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