Several regions in Morocco experienced very heavy thunderstorms yesterday, Saturday, accompanied by hail and gusts of wind. It is expected to continue today, Sunday, as the General Directorate of Meteorology issued a warning bulletin at the “red” alert level.
In this regard, Al-Hussein Youabad, Communication Officer at the General Directorate of Meteorology of the Ministry of Equipment and Water, said: “Since Friday, the southern and southeastern regions of the country and the Atlas regions have witnessed a strong impact of a very unstable tropical air mass, as a result of the exceptional situation of the tropical front (FIT) in our southern regions.”
Youabad explained to Hespress that “this caused humid tropical air masses to rise towards the north and meet cold air masses coming from the north, which led to the formation of unstable and violent clouds, causing strong thunderstorms and heavy rains that led to the formation of floods in several areas of the southeast of the country and the eastern Atlas.”
According to the spokesman, “On Friday, more than 47 mm of rain was recorded in Ouarzazate in less than three hours, and significant rainfall was recorded within 24 hours, from 6 am on Saturday to 6 am on Sunday, reaching a maximum of 170 mm in Taghounit in the province of Zagora. In Errachidia province: Ait Taous (76.4 mm), Ir Kissani (65.8 mm), and in Tata province: Aga (50 mm). In Zagora: 65 mm, and in Figuig: Talsint (83 mm), Abu Lahal (84 mm). In Tiznit province, Afla Igher (80 mm) was recorded, and in Ouarzazate province: Amzri-Imi Noulaoun (30 mm), Tidli (30 mm).”
Youabad added that “these thunderstorms were accompanied by strong winds that stirred up dust in some eastern and southeastern regions of the country, as well as in the Atlas Mountains. Today, strong gusts of wind were recorded, reaching speeds of 100 km/h in Ouarzazate, 81 km/h in Errachidia, 76 km/h in Marrakech, 72 km/h in Midelt, and 65 km/h in Nouaceur.”
“These strong winds also caused dust to be stirred up, making the sky appear orange, which is a result of an optical phenomenon that results from the scattering of light on dust particles suspended in the atmosphere, as the particles block colours such as yellow, green and blue, allowing only red and orange to pass through, giving the sky this unique colour,” the Directorate General of Meteorology’s communications officer continued.
Regarding the weather forecast for the coming days, Youabad said: “Today, Sunday, unstable clouds accompanied by moderate to strong thunderstorms are expected to continue in the Atlas Mountains and its eastern slopes, the southeast and the south of the eastern region. The weather is expected to be partly cloudy in the morning in the central plains and eastern Rif with scattered rain showers. Strong winds will also continue on the southern coasts.”
On Monday, “the instability is expected to weaken, with partly cloudy weather, rain and scattered thunderstorms in the southeast, the south of the eastern region, and the south of the desert regions. There will be low clouds and fog formations in the morning and night on the northern and central Atlantic plains, with daytime temperatures rising across the country.”
For Tuesday, Youabad expected that “local thunderstorms will continue, limited to the south of the desert regions, with dense low clouds in the morning and at night on the phosphate plateaus and the central coasts,” and that the weather will be “partly cloudy with scattered light rain in the southeast and the south of the eastern region, while daytime temperatures will be slightly lower in most parts of the country.”
