Beijing, Dec 27 : Several cities in China's Hunan province have ordered schools to suspend classes due to blizzard conditions. The provincial weather station issued an orange alert for low temperatures and freezing rain and snow at 4 p.m. on Sunday and a yellow alert for snowstorms, reports Xinhua news agency. The first snow of this winter season has hit many parts of the province since Saturday evening. As of 2 p.m. on Sunday, 17 counties, cities, or districts had witnessed the depth of the accumulated snow exceed 10 cm. To ensure the safety of teachers and students, the cities of Loudi, Huaihua, and Shaoyang, and the Tujia-Miao Prefecture of Xiangxi, have issued a circular to suspend schools. China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow, and blue. /IANS