Three people have died and tens of thousands have been left without power as Storm Eleanor sweeps across western Europe. At least 29,000 homes were without electricity in France yesterday as a result of the bad weather. <br/><br/><br/>The French Interior Ministry had warned late Wednesday that gusts could reach 180 kilometers per hour in the French Alps in the next 24 hours. There is a forecast of heavy snowfall in the Alps, which could trigger avalanches.<br/>Rain and high winds brought by Eleanor lashed parts of Ireland and the United Kingdom on Tuesday and Wednesday, causing flooding in some areas, downing trees and temporarily cutting power to tens of thousands of homes.<br/>The stormy weather in Europe has arrived as severe snowstorms hit the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. In the US, a giant winter "bomb cyclone" struck the East Coast yesterday with heavy snow and freezing cold that made for treacherous travel conditions. <br/><br/>Four people were reported killed in the southeastern states of North and South Carolina, where icy roads sent vehicles skittering. More than 2,700 US flights were canceled yesterday and schools were closed in many localities as snow piled up and blizzard conditions began taking hold in the northeast. <br/><br/>Temperatures were so low in northern New York that Niagara Falls – the giant waterfalls straddling the US-Canadian border – froze. Forecasters are predicting heavy snow in New York City and Boston, among other places. According to the National Weather Service, relief in the form of warmer temperatures was not expected until next week.<br/><br/>