We live in NoVA, 45 minutes from Lorton. Rarely do we get enough snow to close things down for very long. I-95 is usually cleared very quickly unless we get a huge blizzard which is very rare. We have taken the AT in Oct, Nov and Feb and the worst weather we had was returning from FL one fall and there were thunderstorms and tornado warnings. I agree if you're coming from more than a couple of hours away, to arrive the evening before and stay in a hotel right off I-95 so if there is weather you should be able to get to the station. We usually arrive around 1145, which means leaving our house by 11 am and we just sit in the station after checking in since there is wifi. We also grab a sandwich from the store in the station while we wait.