Plates can buckle and short, the max ability to produce current drops off as temp lowers, etc. Unless you have a battery designed for the extreme conditions (read more expensive), the conditions and use in such can reduce the life.

Of course that was some decades ago (70s) when I was researching with a mate when we were looking at an electric car project, battery technology will have improved meantime, I expect.

And of course as you say, JTS, if anyone has ever noticed, starting a car that has just switched off a few minutes ago is much easier than one that has dropped to even 10 deg C (not unusual here in Qld during winter) overnight and can be quite a strain. Also, unless you keep your charge level high (many car batteries are often not 'fully charged'), you have less margin too. My little 900 cc beastie if not started for a few days in winter in Brisbane can be quite an effort, especially if the battery is near 3 years old.

We do get snow here in Aus further south than tropical Qld too (so that was part of the project research) ... :-)