BEIJING - Heavy rain will hit China's southwest and southern regions, as well as areas to the south of the Yangtze River over the next three days, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said on Tuesday.

The NMC issued a blue alert for torrential rain, saying that rainstorms will hit parts of Yunnan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning, according to a statement on the center's website.

The southeastern part of Yunnan will see torrential rain with precipitation of 100 to 110 mm, the observatory warned.

It also forecast that thunderstorms, gale and hail will sweep north and northeast China, including parts of Hebei, Liaoning and Jilin provinces and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

China has a four-tier color-coded warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.