**Severe Snowstorm Hits Heihe and Hegang, Northeast China**
On November 25th, due to heavy snowfall, kindergartens and schools in Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province, were closed starting from the afternoon of the 25th. Hegang City also announced a one-day closure for all levels of schools on the 26th. By 4 pm of the 26th, Hegang had already received a total snowfall of 40.7 millimeters, breaking the local record for single-day snowfall in November.
The Heihe City Meteorological Observatory issued a red alert for heavy snow on November 25th: from the 26th at 02:00 to the 27th at 02:00, Aihui was forecasted to experience over 20 millimeters of snow within 12 hours, locally exceeding 30 millimeters, resulting in a new snow accumulation of 15 to 25 centimeters. The snowfall would be accompanied by strong gusts of wind at speeds between 6 to 7 levels, reduced visibility, and potentially hazardous road conditions due to ice and snow accumulation, urging citizens to take precautions.
At 9 am on November 26th, the Heihe City Meteorological Observatory issued a red alert for road icing and snowfall: affected by snowfall, severe road icing or snow accumulation was expected during the day and night of the 26th in Aihui, Sunwu, Xunke, Nenjiang, Wudalianchi, and Beian, significantly impacting traffic.
The Educational and Sports Bureau of Heihe City issued a notice that all kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, and vocational colleges in the city were suspended starting from the afternoon of the 25th, with the resumption of classes dependent on the snowfall conditions.
Hegang, Heilongjiang Province, also announced a one-day closure for all levels of schools on the 26th. Classes scheduled for the 26th were rescheduled to Saturday, and a decision on whether to resume on the 27th would be made based on weather conditions.
At 2:30 pm on November 26th, the Harbin City Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow alert for snowstorms in Wuchang, Fangzheng, Mulan, Tonghe, Yilan, and Bin County: over the past 3 hours, 2 to 6 millimeters of snow had already fallen in the eastern parts of these areas, with a forecast of another 5 to 6 millimeters of snow and an accumulation of 8 to 10 millimeters within 12 hours.
The Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue a yellow alert for snowstorms. On November 26th, the Northeast region entered its peak snowfall period with the possibility of widespread heavy and severe snowstorms. In some parts of north-central Heilongjiang, extremely heavy snowfall, rarely seen at this time, was expected, along with a temperature drop of over 18°C in localized areas.
According to the China Weather Network on November 26th, significant temperature drops were observed in many areas of North and Northeast China. At 2 pm, compared to the same time on the 25th, Liaoning and Jilin saw temperature decreases of over 10°C, with Fushun in Liaoning dropping by 17.1°C, Shenyang by 15.8°C, and Changchun by 14.2°C.
By 4 pm on the 26th, Hegang in Heilongjiang had received 40.7 millimeters of snow, categorized as a severe snowstorm, breaking the local record for single-day November snowfall, with snow depth reaching 30 centimeters. Heavy snow was expected to continue throughout the night, gradually tapering off by the morning of the 27th. In other parts of Northeast China, as of the morning on the 26th, Shenyang had 2 centimeters of snow, Changchun 5 centimeters, Harbin 2 centimeters, Heihe 43 centimeters, and Mohe 39 centimeters.
Meteorological analyst Shen Yuyang from the China Weather Network explained that the severe snowfall in the Northeast was caused by a combination of upper-level cold eddies, surface cyclones, strong low-level jets, abundant warm and moist air flows, and the slow movement of the weather system, resulting in heavy and prolonged snowfall.
Overall, from November 25th to the morning of the 26th, snow and rain turning into snow were observed in parts of central and eastern Inner Mongolia, northern Hebei, and various areas in the Northeast.
The snowfall coincided with a drop in temperatures. On the 27th, cities including Hohhot, Taiyuan, Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Urumqi, Jinan, Zhengzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, and others were expected to experience record-low temperatures since the beginning of autumn.
Additionally, cities like Jinan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guiyang, Kunming, Nanning, and others were forecasted to set new records for lowest daytime temperatures.