The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau predicted Sunday that the city will experience a sharp drop in temperature Thursday, and maybe even a little snow in the run-up to the Spring Festival holiday.

The temperature will fall below zero in downtown Shanghai and drop to about -2 C in the city's outskirts, said Zhang Ruiyi, a senior weather official.

"There will be rain before the snow starts Thursday night. The snow will continue on Friday, but stop on Saturday," Zhang told the Global Times.

Saturday is the last day of the Chinese lunar calendar, making it the eve of the Chinese New Year.

Zhang said that Saturday and Sunday will be cold and wet, and the snowy weather may cause trouble for people heading back to their hometowns. "Because the entire Yangzte River Delta is expecting snow, the roads will be slippery in Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces," she told the Global Times.

The weather bureau predicted the temperature will drop from a high of 12 C on Monday.