Here on the island of Crete, Greece, last winter we had a snow fall at sea level and registered three degrees C of frost. Although it also snowed four years ago, we did not get the frost. In fact last winter was the first time in over fifty years that we had a frost at all.
Nothing actually died but many perennials were set back by the cold and the branches died. Now however they have grown new shoots from the roots.
So last year was the coldest in just about living memory. I have heard forecasts that this year will be even colder, although so far the weather has been fine. Currently we have winds from the south, ie Africa, so the temperatures are around 20-22 C but I am just waiting for Gaddafi's Revenge, the horrible red dust that comes with the winds from Libya.
Currently the worst problem is that apart from very slight showers which do not wet the earth, we have had no rain since last winter. This is a problem for the olive trees. Normally they are not watered all year, which is normal, but in October and, at the latest the beginning of November, we need the rain to fluff up the olives just before we harvest them later this month, but no rain has come. Luckily we have the Greek agricultural water system on our plot so we could hose them which may help a lot, but it is the rain that we really need to release the hard earth into its normal fertility. The olive trees need pruning following the harvest, the oranges, mandarins and lemons are coming into fruition and seeds will need to be planted - broad beans to spinach.
Hope all this helps.
Ray