BEIJING - Heavy snowstorms will hit Northeast China on Monday and Tuesday, while a cold front sweeps central and eastern China over the next three days, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said on Monday.

The NMC said that parts of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces will see up to 35 mm snow from Monday afternoon to Tuesday, accompanied by strong winds and blizzards.

Trees are covered?with thick snow in Mudanjiang city, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Nov 25. [Photo/Xinhua]

At 3:15 pm, the provincial weather observatory of Heilongjiang issued a red alert for snowstorms. As of noon on Monday, ten highways in Heilongjiang were closed, eight flights were canceled, and four airports had been closed.

China has a four-tier-color-coded warning system for extreme weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

A cold front will hit the central and eastern parts of the country on Tuesday, generally lowering temperatures by 4 to 8 degrees Celsius, or even10 degrees Celsius in some areas.

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, parts of north and northwest China and areas along the Yellow and Huaihe rivers will see strong winds.