Snow back in central, southern regions

SHANGHAI: Heavy snow has returned to large parts of central and southern China, which were hit by killer storms last year, over the past two days.

Beijing's National Meteorological Center said snow and freezing rain had been reported in many parts of Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Guizhou provinces, and Chongqing municipality.

Zhai Panmao, a director of the center, said that although the freezing weather will last for some time, there is little chance it will be as devastating as last year's storms that claimed hundreds of lives and caused billions of yuan worth of damage.