Blue alert issued as dangerous weather expected to hit China

The National Meteorological Center issued a blue alert, the lowest level for strong convection weather, on Sunday morning, warning torrential rains, gusts, thunderstorms, and even hail could hit a vast portion of China before Monday noon.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Thunderstorms with gusts or hail are forecast to sweep over the vast northern regions stretching from Northeast provinces Liaoning and Jilin to North China's Hebei province, Beijing, Tianjin and East China's Shandong province from Sunday noon to Monday noon, the center warned.

Heavy rains will sweep through these regions as well, with rainfall expected to reach 50 millimeters at most in certain areas within 24 hours, the center said. Regions to the south and southeast, including parts of Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan provinces, will have torrential rains as well.

Local authorities and the center urged people to be cautious and take protective measures in the coming torrential rains, thunderstorms and gusts, the center warned on Sunday.

Liu Jianing contributed to this story.