Abstract: A winter type tire tread (11) comprises an uneven number of, but at least three, circumferentially extending axially spaced grooves (4-6) and a plurality of zig-zag shaped grooves (36, 37) disposed circumferentially about the tire in a repetitive manner and extending across the tread from the equatorial plane (EP) towards the lateral edges (TE.sub.1, TE.sub.2) of the tire. The zig-zag shaped grooves (36, 37) situated on one side of the equatorial plane (EP) are symmetrical to those situated on the opposite side of the equatorial plane. The circumferentially and laterally extending grooves (4-6, 36, 37) define block elements (20-23), arranged in circumferentially extending rows (30-33) and having each at least in part the shape of a parallelogram. A plurality of sipes (15) are incorporated in each block element.