We've had fairly (in Wisconsin-terms) warm winters the past few, but I think this past December was one of the coldest I can remember in a while. There is a certain refreshing crispness to going outside when it's that cold. Get your stuff done outside as fast as possible, and get back inside and warm up. In a shtf-situation, this weather would be killer to alot of people, even those of us used to it as a normal part of winter.
The house uses natural gas, but really need to look into an alternative heat sources, like wood. We have a old (1904) Victorian-style house, but it never had a fireplace, for whatever bizarre reason. On the to-do list.