Kunming, know as the "Spring City" and the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, had a one-hour snowfall this morning, the first this winter.
A senior citizen of Kunming said that he had never seen a snowfall in November. Local residents stayed outdoors to enjoy the rare snowfall.
Yunnan provincial meteorological sources confirmed that snowfall is rare in mid-November in Kunming. "It normally snows between late December and next March," the sources added.
The sources explained that the snow was formed by a cold front from the north and a warm current from the southwest. Low temperatures will linger for a couple of days, according to the sources.
Sunday was a sunny day, with the highest temperature reaching 15 degrees Celsius. Temperatures fell to 0 degrees in downtown Kunming on Monday and in the western Kunming mountainous area, the highest temperature was 2.6 degrees minus Celsius.
The annual average temperature for Kunming is 14.5 degrees Celsius.
Experts said that snow benefits certain crops, while low temperatures may damage other crops.
A heavy snowfall of 30 cm hit the city in January 30 this year.
(Eastday.com 11/20/2000)
