BEIJING - Heavy snow will sweep southern Tibet in the next three days, while light to moderate snow is expected in some areas in northwest and northeast China and rain in the south, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast on Thursday.

From Friday night to Sunday, moderate to heavy snow will hit the southern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region, with some areas experiencing blizzard, the NMC said in a statement. The accumulated snow in the affected regions will reach 20 to 40 mm thick, the center said.

Meanwhile, light snow or flurry are also expected on the northern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the eastern part of Heilongjiang Province in northeast China, the center said.

Snowy weather in those areas will strengthen on Friday and Saturday and spread to some neighboring regions including Gansu, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, Jilin and Liaoning as well as parts of Shanxi and Shandong, the center said.

The NMC also forecast light rain and showers for the northern and eastern parts of southwest China, most parts of south China and of regions south of the Yangtze river in the following three days.