BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- China's meteorological authority Saturday issued a blue alert for torrential rain, strong winds and hailstones in parts of central and northern provinces.

The National Meteorological Center forecast thunderstorms or hailstones for provinces of Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Hubei and Jiangsu Saturday and Sunday, while parts of Hebei, Shandong, Henan and Anhui provinces would see torrential rain of over 70 mm in 24 hours.

The center warned local authorities to take precautions against possible disasters such as floods and landslides.

It also forecast high temperatures for southern provinces as well as southwest Sichuan Basin in the coming 10 days.

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