Tuesday is "Xiao Han," or "minor cold," the next to the last of China's 24 solar terms according to its lunar calendar. This means the weather is cold, but the frostiest days are still to come.

Meteorological records show, however, that "Xiao Han" is the nippiest period in a year, and this year could be no exception.

Snowstorms have indeed given people in North China a big chill over the past two days. Strong winds which followed the snowfall lowered temperatures drastically. Parts of North China have seen temperatures drop by 8 to 12 degrees Celsius since Monday. In some cases, the lowest temperatures are expected to be between minus-20 to minus-30 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those figures would set new record lows. Mercury readings in Beijing will slip to around minus-9 degrees during the day on Tuesday, the coldest in nearly half a century.

The snow pattern is now moving south. The Shandong Provincial Weather Bureau has issued an extreme weather alert.

 

词语辨析：

the next to the last ---倒数第二

next to the past paragraph 倒数第二段

cold,chill,nippy 

cold------寒冷，表示感觉 i feel cold.

chill-----寒冷，寒气

nippy-----有点儿寒意逼人的阴冷天气

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