BEIJING, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's meteorological department forecast Friday that snow and sleet were likely to hit central and east China in the next three days due to the co-influence of cold air and southwest warm moist airflow.

There will be light to moderate snow or sleet in some parts of northwest and northern regions, the Yellow River and Huaihe River valleys, the Yangtze and Huaihe River valleys, central and northern part of the Yangtze and Hanjiang River valleys as well as the northeastern part of southern China. Heavy snowfall may occur in some of the areas.

Western part of central China's Hunan Province and eastern part of southwest Chinas's Guizhou Province were expected to have freezing rain.

From Friday to Saturday, southern part of Tibet will encounter heavy snowfall or even blizzards, while the temperature on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau may drop drastically by six to 10 degrees Celsius or 12 degrees Celsius in some places, accompanied by strong wind.