Flowers are shrouded by snow in Wuxi, E China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 6, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua]

China's national weather observatory on Friday renewed a blue alert for a cold front that will bring low temperatures and gales to most parts of the country.

From Friday to Sunday, cold air will sweep southeastward across China, bringing strong winds, rain or snow to northern, central and eastern regions, said the National Meteorological Center (NMC).

Temperatures will drop by up to 14 degrees Celsius in the next three days, according to the NMC.

The observatory also continued a yellow alert for high winds in the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea for the whole of Friday.

Due to snow, sections of some highways in Gansu province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have been put under traffic control. Lanzhou City, the capital of Gansu, has halted long-distance bus services.

In China's northernmost province of Heilongjiang, the provincial observatory issued a yellow alert for icy roads on Friday morning. So far, four highways and sections of three other highways have been closed.

The cold snap is expected to end on Feb. 15.

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