The DC area gets a "good" snow storm (≥6") about every 2 or 3 years. Typical behavior is to get a snow day the day of the storm and often the day after as well. Anyone trying to go anywhere during the storm is likely to have a rough time--the local streets won't see anything like a plow come through for a good long while, so it's not really sane to attempt to go anywhere. Even for smaller storms, only 1-2" total, shutting down completely for the day is pretty typical.

It's not so much unheard of in DC, more that we don't get enough snow to warrant heavier investment in snow removal - easier to shut down for a day or two. Anybody who sees snow in the forecast and gets on I-95 or any other major highway in the area is insane.

This site lists most major winter weather events in the DC region over the past decades... https://www.weather.gov/lwx/winter_DC-Winters

I haven't spent much time in/around DC in the scheme of things, but I would guesstimate from my experience there is some snow once or twice a year, and when it happens, everything shuts down. Businesses and government take a snow day just like the schools, as opposed to further north where a storm has to be extreme for that to happen.

That also was my experience in Richmond, VA, somewhat further south.

we have a new climate