Yeah it was a weird year. I have several mildly hardy C. gigantea bamboo (all divisions came from one plant), 3 of which usually die back to the ground, one that hasn't even hardly blinked at winter since I have had it (5 years or so) and this last winter it took a serious beating.
The strange thing about it was we didn't get as cold as in years past, just the timing of the cold was different. And possibly the winds as you suggest. I also think, because our Dec/Jan was so mild, everybody (plants) started thinking spring was here and came out of winter dormancy only to get walloped by an unusually nasty February.
But then again, what the heck do I really know
