In my decades in Seattle, I remember cold snaps running 3 to 4 weeks, and in the winter of 2008 it ran for months.
I’ve been here since 1996. My memory isn’t any good, but the only memorable one to me was the ice storm we had - maybe around 2002? I’m sure there have been others.
We lost power for two weeks. Had the old lady from next door live with us so she wouldn’t freeze to death. (We have a wood burning stove and a small generator).
My point being, it isn’t like Minneapolis where having a bunch of snowplows and stuff makes sense when you will be using them from November through February.
My wife used to make fun of me for being a bit of a prepper. Not anymore. And like others have said, this should be a wake up call. It doesn’t take much to stress resources.
Oh - another thing that is probably common in urban areas with the younger crowd - they buy their food for one or two days. If they don’t eat out, they make a quick stop on the way home from work every day to pick up what they need for dinner.