Do you have cantilever brakes or V brakes? Are your brake levers designed for V brakes or Canti brakes? If you have mismatched brakes/levers, performance will definitely be affected.
And winter weather conditions also will require you to brake sooner and longer, as compared to summer dry riding conditions. There's no way around that.

Tektro brake pads are nothing to write home about but they are adequate in most conditions. Wet winter riding may not be ideal for the stock tektro pads.