Morocco after the drought: what the 2025–26 rains change for travellers
Morocco's seven-year drought ended in the winter of 2025–26. What the fuller dams, the waterfalls, the Atlas snow and the floods mean for your trip.
By Ismail6 min read
Morocco's seven-year drought officially ended in January 2026: a very wet winter filled the country's dams from about a third to three-quarters of their capacity by May. For travellers, that means waterfalls running hard again, snow on the Atlas and green valleys in spring, but the same rains flooded some regions, and the south is still dry.
Seven dry years, then a wet winter
Before these rains, Morocco went through seven dry years in a row. 2023 was the driest year in 80 years, with 48% less rain than normal, according to the national weather service (DGM). In 2024, hammams in several cities, including Casablanca, Tangier and Marrakech, had to close three days a week to save water, and car washes were restricted too.
The winter of 2025–26 turned this around. From December to February, the country received 136 mm of rain on average, almost twice the normal 71 mm, making it the third-wettest winter since 1981, according to the DGM. On 12 January 2026, the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, told Parliament that the rains had ended seven consecutive years of drought.
The dams, date by date
The Ministry of Equipment and Water publishes the dam levels on its Maa Dialna news site.
| Date | Dams full, whole country | Same date a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | about 31% | – |
| 12 January 2026 | 46% | 28.31% |
| mid-February 2026 | nearly 70% | 27% |
| 17 May 2026 | 76.03% | 40.22% |
| 12 October 2026 | 65.7% | 32.1% |
Sources: the minister in Parliament (December and January), Reuters (February), Ministry of Equipment and Water figures reported by Hespress (May) and EcoActu (October). The level drops every summer as water is used and evaporates, but in October 2026 it was still about twice what it had been a year earlier.
The fields showed it too: in April 2026, the agriculture minister forecast a cereal harvest of about 9 million tonnes, roughly double the previous one, from 3.9 million hectares against under 3 million the season before.
Waterfalls and rivers: Ouzoud, Ourika, Setti Fatma
By January 2026, Moroccan media were sharing videos of waterfalls running again all over the country. At Ouzoud, the 110-metre falls in Azilal province, Le360 reported an exceptional flow on 19 October 2026, after more than four hours of heavy rain upstream, with many visitors there for the school holidays.
- Ouzoud, like most Moroccan falls, is usually strongest after the winter and spring rains and weakest at the end of a dry summer. After heavy rain the water runs brown with earth, and the steps down to the pools get slippery. Our Ouzoud waterfalls day trip includes a guided walk to the viewpoints.
- Ourika, an hour from Marrakech, drains the High Atlas into the Tensift basin, the fullest in the country on 17 May 2026, at 95.19%. The Setti Fatma falls above the village are at their best from March to May, when melting snow adds to the rain. The first fall is a short, rocky walk; on our Ourika Valley trip a local guide shows you the way.
- Imlil: the walk on our Imlil day trip passes the Imlil waterfalls, fed by the same mountain snow. The village is still rebuilding after the 2023 earthquake: see the High Atlas after the earthquake.
Spanish travellers: since that earthquake, Spain has advised against travel to Al Haouz province, which includes Ourika and Imlil, so read the current advice and check your insurance.
Snow on the Atlas
The same winter brought the most snow in years. The DGM measured a snow cover of about 55,495 km² on 18 December 2025, the largest since 2019, then a second peak of 50,127 km² on 25 January 2026; for most of the season, more than 20,000 km² stayed white, mainly in the Atlas and the Rif. In late December, visitors came up into the High Atlas just to see it.
Snow also closes roads. The Tizi n'Tichka pass between Marrakech and Ouarzazate, which you cross on the way to Ait Ben Haddou and the desert, was disrupted in late December 2025 and closed by snow on 3, 20 and 24 January 2026. On 24 January, the authorities also closed access to Ifrane and Azrou in the Middle Atlas. A closure can cost you a day, so keep winter plans flexible; our guide to Morocco in January has more on snow days.
In the Atlas Mountains, a snowy winter changes the walking too:
- Toubkal from December to March is a snow climb that needs crampons, an ice axe and experience, and a licensed guide is compulsory in every season: see our guide to climbing Toubkal.
- Day walks around Imlil go on, but paths can be icy: pack as our Atlas Mountains clothing guide suggests.
- The ski resort of Oukaïmeden is being rebuilt, and whether its lifts will run in winter 2026–27 is unconfirmed: check before you plan a ski day.
The flip side: floods
The rains also did damage. The main events:
- 14 December 2025, Safi. After a night of storms, a flash flood hit the old town of this Atlantic port and killed 37 people, according to the local authorities.
- Early February 2026, the north-west. After weeks of rain, the Oued Makhazine dam, filled far beyond capacity, had to release water, and the Loukkos river flooded Ksar El Kebir and its plain. By 16 February, the authorities had evacuated 188,000 people across the north-west and 110,000 hectares had been under water; most residents of Ksar El Kebir were then allowed home (Reuters).
- The Ourika valley knows the risk: a flash flood killed many people there in August 1995, and in August 2025, in the middle of the drought, a violent storm sent a torrential flood down the river.
Safi and Ksar El Kebir are off the usual tourist routes. In the desert, storms swept away a tourists' car near Merzouga in December 2025 and cut roads around Errachidia in October 2026, as we tell in our article on the Sahara floods.
Plain safety advice:
- Watch the DGM's orange and red weather alerts, which the Moroccan press relays.
- Never drive or wade across a flooded oued, even one that looks shallow.
- In mountain valleys such as Ourika, leave the riverbed and the riverside terraces when storm clouds build over the peaks: the flood comes from upstream, even if it isn't raining where you are.
- In winter, keep a spare day before an international flight.
Is Morocco still in drought?
Officially, no. But one wet winter does not end the water shortage, and the south has recovered least. On 12 October 2026, the dams of the Draa-Oued Noun basin, which covers the Draa valley and the area around Guelmim, were 36.1% full, and those of the Guir-Ziz-Ghris basin, around Errachidia and Merzouga, 42.7%, against more than 74% in the Tensift basin around Marrakech. Over sixty years, renewable water per person has fallen from about 2,560 m³ to about 620 m³ a year, close to the 500 m³ threshold of absolute scarcity (World Bank figures quoted by EcoActu). Hence the desalination plants: 420 million m³ a year in May 2026, with 1.7 billion targeted by 2030.
What it means for you:
- Hammams can open every day again. The 2024 closures were lifted region by region from late 2024, and Rabat, the last city still applying them, ended its closure in March 2025. We found no water restriction on hammams in 2026; our guide to the Moroccan hammam explains how a visit works.
- Desert camps and riads may still ask you to save water. In the south, water is precious in any year: short showers are normal, not a sign of crisis.
Our tip
For waterfalls at full strength and green valleys, come in spring, from March to May. For snowy peaks on the horizon of Marrakech, come from December to March, and leave a spare day in case a pass closes. Our guide to the best time to visit Morocco gives the month-by-month picture, and before you book, ask us on WhatsApp how the falls and the roads look that week.