There are a number of reasons why you might get dry eyes in the winter. These include weather changes, as well as lifestyle factors that can exacerbate dry eyes at any time of the year:
I suffered for years, especially at night, would wake and it would be really painful to open my eyes enough to put in drops which would help. Optician said I must sleep with my eyes slightly open. That optician retired and new optician examined them and said she thought the issue was that the fluid that should lubricate my eyes had solidified, like butter in a fridge, and that a warm compress may be the solution. Wow, what a difference. Bought an eye mask I heat in the microwave and wear for 5mins whenever eyes start to feel a little dry (maybe 1x a week) and now I don’t suffer from dry eyes, 18 months now 
My husband also found that the warm mask gave him great relief from his dry eyes irritation. I also suffer quite badly with it but had completely forgotten about his mask as it has been put away with some of his other medical related items since his death last year. Thanks for the nudge ! I will retrieve it and report back on here as to the level of relief I hopefully will also gain.