BEIJING - China's top meteorological authority on Sunday issued a blue warning for heavy rain as the country's southern regions are forecast to be pounded by downpours over the next three days.

A man riding a motorcycle passes a street submerged by floodwaters caused by torential rains in Yangzhou city, East China's Jiangsu province, July 14, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

Torrential rains will hit parts of Anhui, Jiangsu, Yunnan and Hubei provinces on Sunday with precipitation reaching 50-80 mm, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement on its website.

The heavy rain belt is expected to move south on Sunday night, bringing rainstorms to Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, according to the statement.

Over the next three days, the nation's northwestern regions will receive showers with lightening and thunders, while the rainy weather is also forecast to persist in Tibet autonomous region, according to the statement.

An old woman pushing a tricycle bike wades through a street submerged by floodwaters caused by torential rains in Yangzhou city, East China's Jiangsu province, July 14, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]