1月3日凌晨，大雪在寒风中席卷华北地区，飘洒一整天。气温也大幅下跌，逼近40年来北京历史同期的最低值。

Cold front blankets northern China

Northern China has started the new year with heavy snowfall. In Beijing, Tianjin, and areas of Hebei province, the snow has piled up on roads and has caused headaches for many drivers.

Experts are warning that Beijing may see its coldest winter in nearly 40 years. More than half of the planes at the city's airports have been delayed.

China's Central Meteorological Station on Sunday morning extended its warning of a strong cold front that will bring blizzards and heavy fog.

The cold snap will send temperatures plummetting in Northern China, falling by 8 to 12 degrees Celsius from Sunday to Monday.

Some places are even bracing for heavier snow storms.

In Beijing, monitors along the road were displaying temperatures and the latest details on the snowfall, advising everyone to drive carefully.

Though cars were moving slowly, morning traffic was not seriously affected, as most people were still on holiday. However, the traffic could face some pressure later in the day, as many people are expected to drive back to the city after the 3-day holiday. Some highways around the region have been closed due to the heavy snow fall.

Road maintaince worker are speeding efforts to clear ice and snow.

The overnight snow started at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night. In the outskirts of the city, traffic workers began clearing the roads In anticipation of the large number of returning vacationers.

The city's meteorological bureau upgraded the snowstorm alert from blue to yellow at 8:50 a.m. Sunday.

The yellow alert means that the snowfall is going to increase to above 6 millimeters in the next 12 hours.