BEIJING, March 7 -- The snowstorm which hit the northeast region on Saturday -- the strongest March snowstorm in 56 years -- is a result of an overly warm winter, said a meteorological expert on Wednesday.

A cyclone effect was created when a warm current collided with a cold current from the north, said Qiao Lin with the Central Meteorological Station.

The storm became more violent as it moved eastward towards the sea. The high surface temperature of the sea and strong eastern and southerly sea winds turned the storm back towards the land, Qiao explained.

The warm and humid current collided with the cold current from the far north over the country's northeast region to generate the heaviest March snowstorm since 1951, according to Qiao.

The snowstorm disrupted air and road traffic, caused power blackouts, and affected water supplies in the region.

Xu Liangyan, a senior engineer with the State Climate Center, had previously cited global warming as the culprit in the frequent occurrence of extreme weather.

China's average temperature for the 2006-2007 winter was minus 2.4 degrees Celsius, 1.9 degrees higher than normal winters.