Snow, sleet to hit south China

Snow and sleet will hit parts of southern China on Tuesday and Wednesday, the country's top meteorological authority said Tuesday. The weather pattern shifts after a couple of days of sweeping and intense rain, snow and freezing conditions.

The National Meteorological Center said heavy snow is likely to hit some parts of southern China's Chongqing, Guizhou, Hubei, Anhui, Hunan, Jiangxi and Zhejiang from Tuesday to Wednesday, with new snow in these areas accumulating to a depth of 3cm to 10 cm.

Blizzards are expected to deposit up to 18 cm of snow in some parts of the above-mentioned provincial-level regions, the center said. Sleet may fall in parts of Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Zhejiang during the same period.

The last round of rainfall, snowfall and freezing events, which swept across China's 18 provincial-level areas in central and eastern regions was from January 31 to February 5. It affected more than 2.5 million square kilometers, according to the center.

Meteorological experts warned against the adverse weather effects induced by the overlap between the last round of freezing weather and the present round, urging localities to exercise caution when clearing snow.