Classes were called off on Monday in Yantai and Weihai, two coastal cities in eastern Shandong Province, as the weather station predicted a blizzard would hit the already snow-covered region in the coming three days.

Yantai Meteorological Bureau officials said the snowy weather, starting on Dec. 3, has resulted in the heaviest snowfall in the city's history since 1961 when Yantai first had meteorological records.

The total snowfall since Dec. 3 reached 52.9 mm, according to the bureau. Snow in some downtown areas has reached 0.5 meters, the source said.

The bureau has issued a "red" warning (the most severe in the local weather warning system) for a blizzard and another "red" warning for frozen road conditions.

The education authority had called off classes in kindergartens,primary and middle schools for Monday, resumption dependent on weather conditions.

In the nearby city of Weihai, classes were also off, the third time in the past week.

The meteorological bureau of Weihai said the snowfall in the past week was also the heaviest in history. They worried the coming blizzard would worsen the situation.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2005)