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HARBIN/CHANGCHUN, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Heavy snow has halted traffic in the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning.
Various localities in Heilongjiang experienced heavy snowfall on Friday night, and authorities have closed several major highways in the province.
Meteorological authorities forecast medium to heavy snowfall for some parts of Heilongjiang on Saturday, while a blizzard is forecast to hit some parts of Harbin, the provincial capital, and the city of Mudanjiang.
In Jilin, the provincial meteorological authorities on Saturday morning issued a yellow alert for a cold spell for the next 24 hours, with most parts of the province forecast to see a temperature decline of up to 10 degrees Celsius.
From Friday to Saturday, Jilin went through a transition period of mixed precipitation before full-on snow, causing some highways to be closed.
Snow since early Saturday has also closed several highways in Liaoning Province. Mixed precipitation is forecast to hit the province later on Saturday.
A cold front will sweep central and eastern China starting on Sunday, according to the country's national observatory.
From Sunday to Thursday, temperatures in most of central and eastern China are forecast to decline by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC).
The cold front will be accompanied by gales, and rain or snow is expected to bring down temperatures in Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Guizhou by up to 16 degrees Celsius, said the NMC.
China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
