The freezing weather that has plagued southwest China since the beginning of the new year shows no sign of abating as Monday saw more snow and icy rain hit Guizhou Province.

The country's National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast on Monday that the south China provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Hunan should expect even heavier snow dumps than they'd received at the very start of the year, from Monday to Friday.

On Tuesday, snow storms are forecast to hit regions in Yunnan and Hunan.

As the freezing weather intensifies, other parts including Jiangxi Province in the east, and southwestern Chongqing and Guangxi will also see more icy rain during the week.

Electricity cables were coated Monday in ice in 11 counties or cities in Guizhou Province, said the Guizhou Meteorological Observatory spokesman.

More snow and icy rain are expected for Guizhou over the next two days.

In neighboring Sichuan Province, snow coated its capital Chengdu for the fifth time this winter on Monday, the most times in the last 10 years, according to the province's meteorological observatory.

Heavy snow in Guangyuan City of Sichuan forced the Beijing-Kunming Expressway to close for three hours on Sunday, according to traffic police.

The NMC forecast the freezing temperatures and icy rain to spread from southwest China to eastern China over the next three days, dropping temperatures in more provinces.

Temperatures are expected to fall in southwest China, in particular Tibet Autonomous Region, and eastern coastal regions.

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2011)