Alert maintained for NE China blizzards

China's top meteorological authority on Sunday continued to warn of prolonged heavy snow that has battered northeast China since Saturday. The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a yellow alert for blizzards on Sunday morning, the second straight day such an alert has been announced. From Sunday to Monday, heavy snow and strong wind will hit northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, with the layer of snow on the ground as thick as 20 cm in some regions, the NMC said. Snow will continue to move eastward in China's northeast on Monday, the NMC forecast, adding it will abate significantly on Tuesday China's meteorological disaster alerts are categorized as blue, yellow, orange and red as the severity of disasters ascends.