BEIJING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's meteorological authority on Sunday renewed a blue alert, the lowest level in a four-tier warning system, for heavy rain in some southern regions.

From Sunday to 8 p.m. Monday, heavy rain is expected in southern China, including parts of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and provinces of Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian, the National Meteorological Center (NMC) said.

Those areas will see rain of up to 80 millimeters within 24 hours.

NMC cautioned that local governments should take measures against storms, cut off outdoor power supplies in dangerous regions and prevent potential disasters, including mountain floods and landslides.

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

On Sunday, the center also renewed a blue alert for a cold front that will hit a vast part of China from now to Tuesday.