BEIJING - Heavy rainfall will hit most of South China over the next three days, meteorological authorities forecast on Saturday.

Regions south of the Yellow and Huaihe rivers, including parts of the Jianghuai and Jianghan plains, regions south of the Yangtze River and the eastern parts of South China, will see moderate to heavy rain, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said in an online statement.

From Saturday to Sunday morning, heavy rain or thunderstorms are expected in parts of Anhui, Hubei, Guizhou, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, with the rainy weather spreading further east to affect Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang the following day, the center said.

The NMC also forecast temperature drops of up to 10 degrees Celsius and high winds in parts of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Northeast China and North China from Saturday evening through Monday due to a strong cold snap.

Some areas of Inner Mongolia and neighboring Gansu province will be hit by sandstorms from Sunday to Monday, the center added.