 The towns of Russell and Embrun in eastern Ontario were under a state of emergency due to the storm.This area was also hard-hit by the 1998 Ice Storm which caused over 1 million homes to lose power (some of them for up to one month) while transmission towers and hydro poles were destroyed.South of the ice, severe thunderstorms took place across the Mid-Atlantic States on December 1 as the snow and ice took place farther north, where warm Gulf moisture created a situation ripe for heavy rain and severe thunderstorms.