Morocco’s winter 2025-26 ranks as the country’s third wettest since 1981, according to updated data published by the General Directorate of Meteorology, which said the season sharply altered the national water picture after years of drought.
The agency reported an average of 136 mm of rainfall for December through February, nearly double the usual winter average of 71 mm, placing the season behind only winter 2010 at 200 mm and winter 1996 at 178 mm.
The weather agency said the season was marked by successive disturbances that brought heavy rain, notable snowfall and sharp temperature contrasts across the country.
It attributed the pattern to a weakened polar vortex that allowed colder air to shift toward Morocco, while the jet stream settled over the kingdom and the Azores high retreated southward, opening the way for very humid air masses.
Rainfall frequency also surged. The average number of rainy days reached 36, compared with 17 in a normal winter, while several cities set new records. Ifrane logged 49 rainy days, overtaking its previous high from 1963. Kenitra reached 43 rainy days, ahead of the 41 recorded in 1996, while El Jadida posted 41, Casablanca 38 and Khouribga 37, each above earlier benchmarks cited by the agency.
Some areas effectively received a full year’s rainfall in a single season. Tangier recorded 1,296 mm, above its previous record of 889 mm set in 1996, while Nouaceur reached 448 mm and Sidi Slimane 435 mm, both above earlier records from the late 1990s.
Snow cover also expanded to 55,495 square kilometers, the highest level since 2019, before retreating to 20,000 square kilometers in January. The agency said the season underscored Morocco’s climate volatility and the need for sustained monitoring of extreme weather.
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