英语文摘:National observatory warns of rain, snow during holiday travel peak

BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Thursday cautioned that continued rain and snow in some parts of the country will cause obstacles to the holiday travel peak on Thursday and Friday.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu will see small to medium snowfall or sleet in the two days, with some areas even expected to be hit by blizzards. Meanwhile, southwestern Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Yunnan will experience medium rainfall to downpours.

As an eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday ends on Friday, China has started to see another travel peak when holiday-makers return.

The NMC also predicted that a cold front, which brought temperature drops over 10 degrees Celsius to north and northeast China over the past 24 hours, will move southwards on Thursday and Friday and chill the country's southern part.

For the next two days, coastal regions including Guangdong and Fujian will see heavy rainfall due to Typhoon Koinu, the 14th typhoon of this year. Koinu made landfall in China's Taiwan Island Thursday morning and is weakening gradually and moving westwards.