i was exaggerating slightly (it's probably more towards early/late winter), but in the urban core (where more than a million of us live) it's not been uncommon to have many days that fail to reach freezing at night. We've had several Januarys as of late at DCA where the avg temp has been at or above 40F.
That said, let's hope we get the right confluence of events this winter to actually bring significant snow. Doesn't change the fact that a DC winter is looking more like the winters of Richmond or Raleigh from the turn of the century.