Convective weather, characterized by strong wind, hail and thunderstorms, is forecast to hit many areas in southern China this month, the national observatory said.

On Monday, the central and southern parts of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and southwestern Guangdong province were struck by convective weather from 5 am to 8 am, with precipitation per hour up to 20 to 60 millimeters, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Rainfall in Aotou township in Maoming, Guangdong, reached 127 mm per hour in places between Sunday morning and Monday morning, the Guangdong meteorological administration said.

Convective weather, in which warm air currents rapidly push high into the sky and form plumes of thunderclouds, can be destructive. It is widely listed globally behind typhoons, earthquakes and floods for destructiveness. Extreme weather events can happen in an area as small as a few dozen square meters, though it usually affects dozens of or several hundred square kilometers. Convective weather is typically short-lived as well: Some events may last for only a few minutes.

As of the end of March, southern China had been stricken this year by seven convective weather events affecting two or more provincial regions, according to Chen Tao, a chief forecaster at the center.

"Generally speaking, there are slightly more of the weather events this year, which also came a little bit earlier," he said, adding that it's hard to forecast the frequency of devastating events.

More of the extreme weather, however, is on the way. Brief, strong rainfall, with hourly precipitation of 20 to 40 mm was expected to occur in some areas in five provincial regions, including Guizhou, Yunnan and Hainan provinces from 2 pm Monday to 8 am Tuesday, and some areas in these regions will also experience thunderstorms, with strong winds and hail.

Two more events are expected to occur in the southern parts of China from Tuesday to Thursday, and from March 8 to 10. The eastern part of Guizhou will be affected by both events forecasters said.

Brief, strong winds and rain in a convective weather event can be as strong as in the eyes of super typhoons and may take down buildings of sink vessels. The local strength of a super tornado generated by convection can be far beyond that of the strongest typhoon, Chen said.

In convective weather, temperatures in the upper air mass usually lag behind that of lower, moist air, creating strong, upwelling air currents. Spring is high season for convective weather in China, he said.

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