Heavy hail and rainstorms hit Beijing on Saturday afternoon, diffusing lingering mugginess in the city.

Gray blanket of clouds covers Beijing before the rainstorms approach the city?on Saturday afternoon. [chinanews.com]

Rainstorms swept the city from northeast to south, and the city's weather forecasting department issued hail and wind warnings at 3:30 p.m., calling for heavy hail and rainstorms over the next three hours.

"Rainwater is even flowing indoors," said Ding Shuang, a resident of Chaoyang North Road in east Beijing's Chaoyang district.

Rainwater has also slowed road traffic, but the traffic management bureau said traffic has not been disrupted as there were not many vehicles on the road on the weekend.

Precipitation information was not yet available.