DC is lucky enough to experience all four seasons. All the seasons are beautiful here and each has something special to offer Washingtonians. But we want to warn you, that some DC winters can be rough. Here are 10 things no one tells you about surviving winter in DC.

1. Everything shuts down when it snows, ices or even just rains.

DC cannot handle winter weather. We are known for canceling school, shutting down offices and giving government employees the day off at even the slightest hint of snow.

2. Don’t go to the store they day before a storm.

Because it will be packed with people and the shelves will be bare. We take our snow days seriously here!

3. Digging your car out is terrible.

If you do happen to have a car in the district and park it on the street, then just know that digging that car out is a pain. The snowplows cause snow to be pushed near the side of the car so it’s completely buried. You will however get a good work out digging it out.

4. When you do dig your car out, watch for potholes.

The ice, sleet and snow do a number on the streets in DC and DC is slow to fix them up. Watch out for potholes on highways, in neighborhoods and on city streets.

5. Cold weather might not bother you but the wind is worst.

You can bundle up as much as you want but when that burst of cold wind hits you as you’re trying to walk to work, you’re going to hate DC just a little bit.

6. You will get absurdly hot in the metro with all your layers on.

It’s the curse of public transportation in the winter. The second you step down onto the platform you will get so hot in your 18 layers and begin sweaty and feel uncomfortable throughout your entire ride.

7. You can join a snowball fight anytime it snows.

The Washington DC Snowball Fight Association holds free snowball battles throughout DC. You can find where they are by following their social media pages.

8. DC winter can seem really, really long.

Some years it takes until mid-December for DC to get really cold but we’ve been known to have a sneak snow day in late March or early April.

9. But they are also a bit unpredictable.

But the weather in DC tends to go up and down. We might have snow in April but we’ve also had 60 degree days in January.

10. When it does snow, get outside because it’s actually quite beautiful.

But even with all of the pains of DC winters, it is absolutely breathtaking in the snow and worth strapping on the snow shoes to explore!

Have you survived a winter in DC? What tips do you have? And do you remember this epic blizzard?