Back in 1993 we experienced a severe ice storm. I was away working a 24-hr shift when it began. Entire region lost power. At home I had firewood under cover. I had 15 gal. of potable water stored in the basement. I had Coleman lanterns and cooking stoves along with other camping gear. We were out of power for three days in a house with my wife and our three teen and pre-teen sons. It began on Friday eve. I arrived back home on Saturday morning. We all slept in our den the next two nights. I used all my wood in the only heat source we had… our fireplace. I had to add wood every hour or so, and we augmented the heat with two Coleman lanterns. By Sunday morning I could see my breath in the kitchen. We had no water because we were on a well. I learned two important things. 1. Fireplaces suck. All the heat goes up the chimney and they consume wood like a starving dog. 2. It takes almost 5 gal. of water to flush the toilet.
Two weeks to the day we had another ice storm worse than the first. This time it had wind, and we could hear the trees crack and split around us. I am much, much better prepared now, although I thought I was back then.