Snowfall causes wide havoc
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Snow has fallen again since noon and the airport was still in normal operation as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to the airport command center.
The Taiyuan Municipal Education Bureau issued a notice Wednesday afternoon, asking all the schools and kindergartens in the city to suspend classes on Thursday and Friday as heavy snow is still hitting the city.
The snow drove most of the long-distance passengers to the railway station in Taiyuan. A record 160,000 passengers were expected to travel Wednesday on services operated by Taiyuan Railway Bureau, which mainly manages services in Hebei and Shanxi provinces.
In Ningxia, traffic police said Wednesday at least two people were confirmed dead and 37 were injured in 155 reported road accidents caused by the snow Tuesday.
Northwest China's Shaanxi Province met the first snow this winter Wednesday morning as temperature dropped 12 degrees Celsius.
The Xianyang International Airport was closed at 8:30 p.m., the second time within a day, stranding more than 7,000 passengers. It was closed at 7 a.m. and resumed operation four hours later.
In central China's Henan Province, all the highways were still closed as of 5 p.m. Wednesday after heavy snow hit the province since Tuesday night.
The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued an orange alert against snow Wednesday, forecasting heavy snow in north, central and east China from Wednesday afternoon to Thursday noon.
Under the orange alert, departments of railway, communication, electricity and transportation should strengthen the maintenance of the roads, railways and power lines and people are suggested to reduce their outdoor activities.
Heavy snow would affect central Shaanxi province, central and southern Shanxi province, central and southern Hebei province, northwestern Henan province, northwestern Hubei province and northwestern Shandong province due to the combined effect of cold and warm air.
NMC forecasts snowstorms in central Shaanxi province, southern Shanxi province, southern Hebei province and northern Henan province with an average precipitation of 8 mm to 16 mm. In some places, the amount could reach 20 mm.
