I never had any problems with my tires either last winter. Granted I didnt drive it much because in howard county md they are salt happy and throw salt on the road just about every day.

 

Summer tires are not meant to be driven in cold weather for this reason, but they also shouldn't lose traction in such a volatile manner on dry pavement unless they are completely frozen over. The bigger problem should be low pressure (in which case the low pressure warning should be on).

I've mentioned before that I kept my Bridgestone RE50s on until January last year here, even though we get 140" annual snowfall, and I actually was able to navigate the roads here quite successfully even in snow. (More a testament to my stupidity than my driving skills, I suppose.) So I'm going to imagine that in the OP's case, his wheels were completely frozen.