There was no white Christmas for Nanjingers, but the chances of a white Chinese New Year are increasingly likely, as this part of the country prepares for some pretty rainy and snowy conditions, with January closing out and giving way to Spring Festival.
If you have checked the weather APP on your smartphone in the last few days, you may well have noticed a few little snowflakes kicking around for later this week. While the APP is not wrong, it’s not the full picture. In fact, local meteorologists are saying the snows are a sure thing.
Beginning tonight and until 29 January, east-central China will face large-scale rain and snow storms, specifically the provinces of Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hunan, Guizhou and other places, as the weather system moves southward.
According to Jiangsu Meteorology, for us here in Nanjing, rains beginning tomorrow morning shall turn to snow on Thursday evening.
While relatively light then, the snowfall shall be at its highest in Nanjing on Friday, with as much as 7 centimetres predicted to fall. In north-eastern Nanjing, parts of Pukou District and Jiangbei New Area may see as much as 9 centimetres of snow.
And with winds reaching gale force 4, gusting to 6, Friday is the day on which we may also expect snow blizzards in the Southern Capital.
Our neighbouring cities of Yangzhou and Zhenjiang are also predicted to receive a decent frosting; they’re perhaps looking at 5 centimetres. Other cities in the east and north of Jiangsu shall receive either very little or no snow at all.
Going forward, the snowfall is forecast to continue on Saturday, albeit in a less dramatic fashion. By Sunday, the storm should have run out of puff.
But with temperatures lingering around zero, and in some parts to fall as low as minus 6 degrees Celcius, it’s possible the snow may stick around until our Chinese New Year celebrations on the evening of 31 January.
Road icing may also occur in Nanjing, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang and other places, which will have a significant impact on traffic. Be prepared and allow more time for your journeys.
