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Home > Destinations > Mediterranean > Morocco > Season
and Climate
 Climate in Morocco
The climate in Morocco is as varied as its diverse geography. Morocco has wide-ranging geological formations, including a vast coastline, interior lowlands extending into the foothills and highlands of the Rif Mountains and the Middle Atlas and High Atlas ranges which sore up to 13,700 f / 4150 m. The dry southern mountain slopes drop into the unforgiving Sahara. Between the mountain ranges and the Atlantic lie plains and plateaus of fertile agricultural lands. Our Wildland itineraries traverse several of Morocco’s major terrains, the central planes and plateaus, we cross the Middle and High Atlas Mountains, the Sahara, and drive the Atlantic coast.
Generally, Morocco's climate is moderate and subtropical, cooled by breezes off the Atlantic and Mediterranean. In the interior the temperatures are more extreme, winters can be fairly cold and the summers very hot. In fact, the further you go from the ocean the more extreme winter and summer temperatures become. The most pleasant time to visit Morocco is in the spring and autumn, when the weather is warm and dry. Average summer temperatures in the coastal cities, range from 64-82 °F (18- 28°C). In the interior, however, highs frequently exceed 95°F (35°C).
Weather along the coastal region is tempered by the Mediterranean in the north and the Atlantic Ocean along Morocco’s western coast. Average daily temperatures range from about 54°F (12°C), in winter (Dec-Mar) to 77°F (25°C) and higher in summer (Jun-Sep).
Going inland to the northern plateau region, Fez has a continental climate with more extreme temperatures. In summer it can reach 120°F (45°C), but generally hovers in the 80-90°F (26-32°C) range. Winters, by contrast, can be rather cold.
Heading due south into the interior lowlands, Marrakesh has an average winter temperature of 21°C (70°F) and summer temperature of 100°F (38°C). The hottest months of the year are July, August and September, but there is little humidity so temperatures are generally bearable. Marrakech and the lowlands of Morocco can become stiflingly hot in summer, easily exceeding 100°F (38°C) when the desert winds from the Sahara (known as the sirocco or chergui) are blowing. It is sunny nearly all year round, with mild winters. But winter can bring heavy downpours of rain, which leave streets in the old town muddy, and nights can be cold.
In the Atlas Mountains temperatures can drop below zero Celsius (32°F) in winter and mountain peaks are snow capped throughout most of the year. The winter in the north of the country is wet and rainy, while in the south, at the edge of the Moroccan Sahara, it is dry and bitterly cold. The highlands are buried in snow during the winter and serve as a popular reprieve from the hot lowlands in summer. Summer Hiking in the Atlas Mountains is generally sunny and warm and cool at night.
In the Sahara, typically the dry atmosphere of the desert can sway temperatures from hot in the day to freezing at night.
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