I've lived in places where the "ice event" that caused the power to go out was freezing rain. That kind of ice can make trees heavy enough to lose limbs into power lines and makes roads slick enough for vehicles to crash into transformers and power poles (hence the power outages), without outdoor temperatures necessarily being cold enough to preserve frozen goods and without there being enough easily available ice outside (e.g. ~.5cm covering on all surfaces) to bring inside for stuffing the freezer.