BEIJING - Heavy rains will continue to sweep across most parts in south China for the coming 24 hours and will disrupt road traffic in the regions, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) warned on Sunday.

The eastern parts of Guangxi, and some regions in Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces will see heavy rains over the next 24 hours, with some areas receiving downpours of 50 to 60 milliliters, the NMC said in a statement.

Transportation in parts of major highways in the south, including Changsha-Shenzhen, Lanzhou-Haikou and Guangzhou-Kunming expressways, could be affected by unfavorable weather conditions, the NMC said.

Meanwhile, a new round of cold front will hit northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from Tuesday, bringing strong winds and temperatures drops along the way, the NMC said.

The northern and southwestern parts of Xinjiang, northeastern parts of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, some areas in north China and most parts in northeast China will see snows in the following days.

The NMC advises travellers to keep a close watch on the weather forecast and take precautions amid the travel rush ahead of the Spring Festival holiday.

The Spring Festival, which falls on January 23 this year, is a major Chinese holiday. A total of 3.16 billion passenger trips are expected during the 40-day festival travel rush, which started on January 8.