BEIJING - China issued a yellow alert for blizzards on Saturday, the third-highest in the country's four-tier warning system, and the first blizzard alert of this winter.

From Saturday evening to Sunday, heavy snow will hit northeastern China's Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, with some regions seeing ?20 mm to 30 mm of snow, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

The affected regions should prepare to remove ice and snow from roads, and pay more attention to crops and livestock.

Meanwhile, a cold snap will sweep northern China and regions along the Yellow and Huai rivers from Saturday to Monday, with temperatures falling by 4 to 8 degrees Celsius.

China's meteorological disaster alerts are categorized as blue, yellow, orange and red as the severity of disasters ascends.