MOROCCO · WEATHER
Key Facts
- —What happened The weather service put 26 provinces on orange alert.
- —The window Storms from 13:00 to 23:00 on Sunday, 11 October.
- —The numbers 25 to 40 mm of rain, with hail and gusts.
- —The roads Five flood-cut roads stay closed, two on the Imlil route.
- —What it means for you Check road status before any Atlas Mountains trip.
- —Still open No official casualty figures or damage estimates have been published.
Morocco’s weather service warned of hail and heavy downpours across a mostly inland belt, from Fez and Meknes to the Atlas Mountains.
Morocco’s national weather service placed 26 provinces under an orange storm alert on Sunday, 11 October. It warned of thunderstorms with hail and strong gusts from 13:00 to 23:00 local time.
The alert covered cities such as Fez, Meknes, Ifrane and Beni Mellal. In the latest official road bulletin, five flood-cut roads remained impassable, two on the route to Imlil, a trekking hub near Marrakech.
For foreign visitors, the main risk is on mountain roads, where the authorities say no local detour is possible.
What the Orange Storm Alert Covers
The bulletin came from the Direction Générale de la Météorologie (DGM), Morocco’s state weather agency. Orange is the second-highest of the four levels on its colour scale of green, yellow, orange and red.
The DGM forecast cumulative rainfall of 25 to 40 millimetres during the alert window. That is roughly one to one and a half inches, a heavy amount for a few hours of storms.
The bulletin named Figuig, Tinghir, Errachidia, Fès, Sefrou, Khouribga, Sidi Kacem, Sidi Slimane and Moulay Yâacoub. It also listed Guercif, Taounate, Taza, Khénifra, Fquih Ben Salah, Boulemane, Al Hoceima, Azilal and Béni Mellal.
The rest were Meknès, El Hajeb, Ifrane, Midelt, Ouazzane, Settat, Khémisset and El Kelaâ des Sraghna. The state news agency MAP published the full list on Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday, the Moroccan news site Hespress reported an earlier warning of storms with hail for both weekend days.
Five Roads Still Closed After Floods
The storm warning follows a week of flash floods in the south and the High Atlas. The Ministry of Equipment and Water, which runs Morocco’s road network, counted 19 road sections cut between 6 and 10 October.
By 19:00 on Saturday, 10 October, 14 of those sections had reopened, according to the ministry’s latest road bulletin. They included five national roads, four regional roads and five provincial roads.
Five sections were still impassable, and the ministry said no local detour was possible on any of them. Two are in Al Haouz province: the N7 between Tahanaout and Asni, and the P2030 between Asni and Imlil.
Two more closures are in Taroudant province, on the R106 near Aït Abdellah and the R116 near Taghmout. The fifth is the R504 between Ribat El Kheir and Bouiblane in Sefrou province, which is also under Sunday’s alert.
The ministry said traffic had resumed on national roads in Zagora province and between Guercif and Nador, among others. Médias24, a Casablanca business news site, first reported the bulletin on Sunday.
Why Al Haouz Matters
Al Haouz is the mountain province south of Marrakech that bore the brunt of the September 2023 earthquake. Many villages there are still rebuilding, and its roads are the main link between Marrakech and the High Atlas.
Imlil is the usual starting point for treks to Jebel Toubkal, a peak climbed by many foreign hikers each year. The closure of the Asni road cuts the standard route from Marrakech to the village.
Le360, a Moroccan news site, reported in Arabic on Sunday that crews had reopened the N7 at three points in Al Haouz. One of them is in Asni commune.
Le360 said clearing of rocks was still under way on the Asni to Imlil road. It did not say whether the Tahanaout to Asni section was open.
What It Means for US Readers
Morocco is one of Africa’s most visited countries, and Marrakech day trips to the Atlas are a staple of US tour packages. The Ministry of Tourism counted 15.7 million arrivals from January to September, up 5% on a year earlier.
Tourism is also a pillar of the economy that hosts the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. Travel receipts reached MAD 97.9 billion (about US$9.9 billion) from January to August, Office des Changes data cited by Hespress show.
Conversions use the open.er-api.com rate of 11 October 2026, MAD 9.88 per US$. Travellers heading to Imlil, the Middle Atlas or the desert east should check road status and local weather updates before leaving.
The US Embassy in Rabat issues security and weather alerts to registered citizens. Tour operators may reroute or cancel mountain excursions while the orange storm alert and road closures last.
What Is Not Known
Neither the weather service nor the road ministry has published any figures on deaths, injuries or damage from this week’s floods. It is also unclear how much rain actually fell during Sunday’s storms.
The ministry has not given a date for reopening the five closed roads. It is not known whether the DGM will extend the orange storm alert into Monday, 12 October.
What Comes Next
The DGM issues new bulletins as conditions change, and the road ministry publishes updated traffic bulletins. Médias24 reported that unstable weather could persist in several regions until the end of next week.
The alert does not mean the whole country is affected. Coastal cities such as Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier and Agadir were not on Sunday’s list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an orange alert mean in Morocco?
It is the second-highest of the four warning levels used by the national weather service, the DGM. Only red is higher; green and yellow are lower.
Which cities were under the alert?
The 26 provinces included Fez, Meknes, Ifrane, Beni Mellal, Taza, Settat and Al Hoceima. Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech and Agadir were not on the list.
Can I still reach Imlil from Marrakech?
On Saturday evening, the road ministry listed the Tahanaout to Asni and Asni to Imlil roads as closed. It said no local detour was possible, so check with your operator first.
Has anyone been hurt in the floods?
The official bulletins cited here do not mention any casualties. No damage figures have been published.
How long will the bad weather last?
Sunday’s alert ran until 23:00 local time. A Casablanca news site reported that unstable weather could continue in several regions until the end of next week.
Sources: MAP, DGM orange alert bulletin, 11 October 2026; Médias24, Ministry of Equipment and Water road bulletin; Médias24, weather outlook; Le360 (Arabic), Al Haouz roads; Hespress, weekend storm warning; Hespress, tourism and Office des Changes data (all accessed 11 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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