2008 Chinese winter storms

The 2008 Chinese winter storms（2008年中国雪灾、2008年中国南方雪灾）are a series of winter storm events that affected large portions of southern and central China starting on 25 January 2008 until 6 February 2008. The systems affected most of the area with heavy snow, ice and cold temperatures causing extensive damage and transportation disruption for several thousand travelers. It has become China's worst winter weather in half a century. According to some media sources the storms were directly responsible for at least 129 deaths.

Cold snap and blizzard

The series of severe winter events started on 10 January when a large dome of cold air enveloped most parts of China, causing much precipitation in the form of heavy snow west of the coastal areas, where the temperature was dropped to slightly below 0 °C (32 °F). The provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui and the municipality of Shanghai were hardest hit. Some received their worst snow storms in seventeen years while some experienced their worst in five decades. After the first wave of precipitation had passed through, snow continued to fall throughout several days following, accompanied by bitterly cold weather.

Snow was even reported in the country's largest true desert, the Taklamakan, where the snow and record low temperatures near lasted 11 consecutive days and...
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