I've been following that in the news. It's a bit unusual for the region, so I can understand how many have no idea how to handle it. I agree with the opinion that they should have staggered the times people were leaving (can't recall if it was a Mayor or the state's Governor who said it), it may have reduced that traffic jam.
Thankfully we don't get much snow here in Vancouver. We had a few days with some, and it made a mess of traffic as expected. Most people here have no idea how to react in it.
When I lived in London, Ontario, we got our fair share of snow, ice, and slush. I was a delivery guy for a long time, so I saw pretty much everything at one point or another. The ones that made me laugh (and cringe when I saw them coming) were the folks who had brand new sport-utility etc vehicles who figured that because they have 4 wheel drive and ABS brakes, they can drive like it's summertime. One of the first things you learn doing that is that while ABS is great, if all 4 wheels agree that they are stopped it does nothing for them while sliding and spinning off into the ditch.