Rabat – Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM) has issued an orange-level weather alert for thunderstorms, possible hail, and strong wind gusts in several provinces on Thursday.
The directorate expects rainfall of between 25 and 35 millimeters in Midelt, Errachidia, Figuig, Zagora, Tinghir, and Boulemane, according to an orange-level warning.
The storms are expected from 1 p.m. until 11 p.m. on Thursday, with the possibility of hail and strong wind gusts.
The new warning follows heavy thunderstorms that affected several parts of Morocco in recent days, particularly the High Atlas Mountains, where flash floods swept away vehicles and damaged roads.
In Al Haouz province, floodwaters and mud disrupted traffic and damaged infrastructure. Around Asni and Moulay Brahim, flooding and falling rocks affected road access, forcing authorities to send teams and heavy machinery to clear debris and restore traffic.
In another incident, three foreign tourists were rescued after floodwaters swept away their vehicle while they attempted to cross a flooded road near Ait Saoun. The recent storms also caused road closures and damage to infrastructure in provinces including Zagora, Ouarzazate, Tata and Taroudant.
The flooding came after the meteorological service issued several orange-level warnings for thunderstorms, hail and strong winds across different parts of the country.
Morocco experienced unusually high temperatures in September and at the beginning of October, before temperatures began to fall across much of the country.
September was the hottest on record in Morocco since 1981, with average temperatures reaching 2.75 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 reference average. Some areas recorded particularly high temperatures, including Sidi Slimane, where the mercury reached 47.1 degrees Celsius on September 3.
By early October, the weather service was forecasting a gradual return to milder conditions in northern and central Morocco, although some southern and inland areas remained relatively hot. At the same time, thunderstorms continued to affect the Atlas Mountains, the Rif and parts of the southern provinces.
