Rosewest,
There's a huge difference (from a rose's point of view)
between below freezing and below zero.
From what I've seen of west coast weather, you're probably 20F and above. If so, don't worry. New growth will be damaged below 26-28F, but not terminally. You'll have to watch for dieing spots aka cankers on the canes and trim below them once spring comes.
Zone 5 is a whole different temperature profile. If you've had temps from -10F to -20F for five or so days, your roses will be damaged. In my part of the world, there was a period of three or four days that got to -28F in the mid 80s. Modern Rose gardens were destroyed. I don't think your cold is that aberrant, but it just doesn't feel right for you.
For my roses, below freezing is something I've watched them weather without much damage.
Snow takes getting used to; can you bring yourself to look at it and see nature's free insulation for your plants? Once snow is around the roses, the parts that are protected by snow are not going to feel winds that are colder than 32F.

Here is a link that might be useful: Your part of the world with temperature scale

If it is just below freezing (31-20 degrees) then you are probably fine. We get temps like that here all the time during winter and I never do any kind of winter protection. You may get more die back than you usually do and I would suggest a good prune this spring. But I don't think the roses should be permanently damaged. Plus if you have snow, that helps to insulate the roses.

I know it's not funny, but i was a little worried also when the temps have been hitting the single digits here for a while, i don't protect my roses either. i have a few teas and a couple chinas i planted this year, and they are still alive so far. we don't ever have much or a lasting snow here, so snow is never helpful as an insulator. Somehow I always seem to be pushing my zone and breaking all of the rules, and if they come through the winter still alive, i'm gonna tear out the rose culture chapters from all of my rose books and burn them in the fireplace!LOL.

Well, thank you---that's a huge relief. I don't think our temps have been much below about 20 degrees (maybe 18-19 for a very brief time) at night anyway. The snow is melting now and I do have to get out in the yard to assess any damage from its weight. But at least I can rest easy that the temps aren't low enough to kill things down to the roots!! I usually prune pretty hard anyway. I appreciate your responses very much!!

RoseWest

Rosewest,
Glad you and your roses weren't below 20 for very long.
Somethings you might want to keep an eye open for:
Dessicated canes- this is when the cane (ususally a year old stem) looks vertically wrinkled. It won't come back.
Canker beginnings: reddish purple halos around black or brown areas- these show up when the daytime temps are 50s to 70s (my garden conditions). These are rotted areas that are going to be a problem. If they are limited to a very small part of the cane, the cane can probably make it through summer. If they are half of the way around the cane, they will (again my conditions) probably grow and you'll loose that cane midsummer.

Yes, I think I've seen this condition before. I'll be sure to prune it out if I see it this year...I'm hopeful now that everything will survive...I had a few in pots that probably won't make it but we'll see. Thanks for your help!

At my house the temp got down to 8 one night but I was fortunate enough to have 12" of snow on the ground so I'm not too concerned.
You may lose something tender or one that was not very healthy going into the Winter but I'll bet most of your Roses will be fine.
Just think, February is right around the corner so you'll look at all of them while pruning.
This isn't a very sexy picture but it says it all about the last two weeks.
Good luck and let us know.
Chuck

{{gwi:348774}}

I got slammed here too and have just taken a peek at everything since it's starting to melt. My Cecile Brunner is a casualty - arbor broke from the weight and also a main cane broke. My American Pillar is laying down but looks OK, the tripod just fell over. There's a lot of snapped and broken canes, but everything pretty much looks OK.
{{gwi:348775}}

Isn't the cold supposed to be good for old roses and rugosas? I have also have a lot of Gallicas. Why is that?

if i'm not mistaken, all roses are from the northern hemisphere, and need a period of chilling to germinate the seeds, otherwise it's probably more of, better cool than scorching hot.