First snowfall of year descends on Beijing, temperatures drop

The season's most wide-ranging snowfall swept across North China on Friday with heavy winds and lower temperatures affecting large parts of the country, including Beijing.

The snow and sleet started on Thursday night in Qinghai and Gansu provinces in Northwest China, and are set to move eastward through wider swathes of North China, pushing the mercury down by 4 to 8 C, the National Meteorological Center said on Friday.

As much as eight millimeters of snow is likely to fall in some areas, including the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and the provinces of Heilongjiang, Shanxi and Shaanxi, it said.

Beijing recorded its first snowflake at 2:50 pm on Friday in its northwestern Yanqing district, according to the city's weather bureau.

Heavier dusting was expected in the urban areas on Friday night, tapering off in the early hours of Saturday, the bureau added.

Waiting for the first snowfall in Beijing with hyped excitement has become a ritual for many residents because of the prolonged winter stretch without major precipitation in recent years.

According to the bureau, Beijing sees its first snowfall on Nov 29 on average, but the past two winters the city reported its first snows in late January. The latest date by which the first measurable snow was recorded in the city was in 1984, when it fell on Feb 11.

The Beijing Capital International Airport said on Friday the mild snow could cause delays or cancellations during the busy hours of Saturday morning as de-icing processes for each plane will take about five to 20 minutes.

Nationwide, following its peak on Friday, the snow is forecast to die down in most areas over the weekend, but will continue to blanket parts of northeastern and northwestern China, where accumulated snowfall could reach 9 mm, according to the National Meteorological Center.

"The scope of this snowfall could be the widest of this winter, but the strength is of normal level, so most regions will only see small to mild snow," said Zhang Fanghua, a chief forecaster at the center.

Mild rainfall and a cold snap will also reach middle and eastern parts of China and continue through early December, the center added.

"As of Tuesday, the majority of northern regions had started their winter season, and some parts to the south are beginning to embrace the winter," said Hu Xiao, an analyst at Weather.com, a website affiliated to the China Meteorological Administration. He added that as of early December, wintry conditions will cover more than 80 percent of China.

Du Juan contributed to this story.