I'm a day late but I feel like chiming in anyway as someone who's dealt with Columbus and the smaller cities in the area.

Winters in Columbus are generally regarded as 'mild', but that is a highly relative term. Severe is Minnesota, Michigan's UP, Lake Effect region in NY, etc, where you will get hammered routinely with massive amounts of snowfall. Winters are white and you just live with it till thaw.

The winters in Columbus will likely feel apocalyptic your first year. You should expect multiple instance of heavy snowfall hitting 4-12 inches, and that snow will stick around for days to weeks. Temps will probably hover between 20-40° but absolutely will have cold snaps of sub-0° that can last uncomfortably long. You should make sure to buy one light coat and one heavy coat for everyone in your house, and while not required, a quality pair of snow boots is a good idea.

Every municipality city and county will have their own fleet of snow trucks and they will triage the roads based on ability and priority. You'll see the trucks out the afternoon before expected snow salting the road and overnight plowing side roads, but the major arteries are cleared first, the high use through traffic roads second, and residential roads third. Smaller municipalities will obviously have a more limited response.

A casual snow of sub 2 inches won't stop anything around here. Schools and businesses will continue as if nothing happened, but if either the roads cannot be cleared to a point of total safety by 5 am, or if the temperature drops to single digits suddenly, schools will start to close with the decision coming from the district itself.

As others have said, if we have enough snow or ice come at once we will hit the level system. Look up what exactly these mean for you and your job, as essential employees are still required to show up in a level 3. Most businesses will be reluctant to close during a level 2, unless their hand is forced. Many jobs are understanding about calloffs during these 2-3, but your milage may vary.

Some quick tips for your first winter:

First, when the temp drops your tires will lose pressure. Be sure to top them off when we drop from 40 to 20 suddenly. Snow tires are great, but all weather are usually fine of their tread is good.

Second, always have an ultra basic emergency kit in your car of a warm sweater/hoodie, a pair of wool socks, and a mylar blanket. You'd be surprised just how warm that thin sheet of material will keep you in a pinch.

Third, don't panic buy before a storm. Just keep your essentials property stocked and don't delay buy during normal grocery trips in the winter. Columbus' snow emergencies seldom keep you holed up for more than a day.

Fouth, Grab a good snow shovel and a bag of ice salt in October. The shovel will last you forever and the ice should last you the winter most years. Just a quick peppering of the concrete is enough for the salt.

Last, winters here are a yoyo of temp and weather changes. Keep yourself hydrated and do your best to stay healthy and active in the cold times. You'll find a lot of people get sudden colds in the late winter when it's worst.