Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.
The best weather in Meknes is from May, October, November. — consistent weather climate
☀️Pleasant
| Score | 55 | 68 | 73 | 86 | 91 | 83 | 43 | 42 | 82 | 90 | 87 | 70 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Cold | Mild | Mild | Mild | Pleasant | Pleasant | Hot & dry | Hot & dry | Pleasant | Pleasant | Mild | Mild |
| Temperature | 5–16°C | 6–18°C | 7–19°C | 10–22°C | 13–27°C | 16–31°C | 19–36°C | 20–36°C | 17–31°C | 14–27°C | 9–21°C | 6–18°C |
| Feels like | 2–14°C | 3–16°C | 5–18°C | 8–22°C | 12–27°C | 16–31°C | 19–37°C | 20–37°C | 17–31°C | 13–26°C | 7–19°C | 4–16°C |
| Precipitation | 58mm 9 days | 51mm 8 days | 85mm 12 days | 56mm 9 days | 38mm 6 days | 10mm 2 days | 4mm 0 days | 6mm 1 days | 14mm 3 days | 50mm 6 days | 47mm 7 days | 52mm 7 days |
| Sunshine | 8.6h ☀︎ 85% | 9.5h ☀︎ 87% | 9.6h ☀︎ 80% | 10.9h ☀︎ 84% | 11.8h ☀︎ 85% | 12.4h ☀︎ 86% | 12.7h ☀︎ 90% | 12.3h ☀︎ 92% | 11.0h ☀︎ 89% | 9.6h ☀︎ 85% | 8.9h ☀︎ 85% | 8.5h ☀︎ 85% |
| Wind | S · 12 km/h | S · 14 km/h | W · 14 km/h | NW · 14 km/h | NW · 14 km/h | NW · 14 km/h | NW · 14 km/h | NW · 14 km/h | NW · 13 km/h | NW · 13 km/h | S · 12 km/h | SE · 12 km/h |
| Humidity (%) | 72% | 70% | 72% | 68% | 60% | 57% | 48% | 47% | 58% | 57% | 65% | 71% |
| Day length | 10.2h | 11.0h | 12.0h | 13.0h | 13.9h | 14.4h | 14.2h | 13.4h | 12.4h | 11.3h | 10.4h | 9.9h |
The International Agricultural Show of Morocco (SIAM) transforms Meknes into the country's biggest gathering each spring…
Each year during Mawlid, the Aissawa Sufi brotherhood gathers in Meknes for the Moussem of Sidi Ben Aissa, one of Morocc…
Conventional wisdom crowns May as the golden month for Meknes, but the real secret belongs to September, when the summer inferno breaks, the tour-bus caravans vanish, and the imperial city returns entirely to itself.
When Sultan Ismail Ibn Sharif forged Meknes into Morocco’s imperial capital in the seventeenth century, he built on an inhuman scale: twenty-foot-thick ramparts, colossal storehouses designed for twelve thousand royal horses, and gates so monumental they seemed engineered to humble visiting empires. Most travelers rush through here on a brisk day trip from Fez, snapping a photograph before the tiled arch of Bab Mansour and retreating. That is a tactical mistake. Meknes is a city of slow theatricality, of late afternoons when golden light washes across the dusty pink rammed-earth battlements and the vast square of Place el-Hedim fills with storytellers and scent of roasted chickpeas. But because the city's stone surfaces amplify the sky, timing your visit dictates whether you inherit an imperial marvel or an unyielding furnace.
Standard travel guides will tell you that May offers the most immaculate weather of the year. What they conceal is that May is also when you will share every vaulted corridor of Heri es-Souani with flag-following tour groups, jostling for room beside the quiet reflecting waters of the Agdal Basin. September is our definitive pick because it makes a far smarter bargain.
By early September, the brutal bite of midsummer softens into dry, honeyed warmth. Yes, midday still hovers around thirty-one degrees, but the air has lost its suffocating weight, and by late afternoon a cool breeze drifts off the Saïss plain. More importantly, the visitor volume collapses to its yearly low. You can walk into the tiled sanctuaries of the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail in near silence, hearing only the trickle of the ablution fountains.
October extends this grace period. The daytime warmth cools to absolute perfection, while the medina alleys settle into their natural community rhythms. Rain begins to make occasional, welcome appearances to wash the cedar dust from the rooftops, but it arrives in soft interludes rather than day-wrecking downpours. If you want to experience Meknes as an inhabited, living royal citadel rather than a stage set, this autumn window is peerless.
Spring in Meknes is undeniably handsome. The surrounding olive groves and vineyards are radiant green, and the air smells of orange blossom. Yet traveling here in mid-spring requires deliberate stamina, especially in April.
Late April hosts the SIAM International Agricultural Show, Morocco's colossal farming expo. The event pulls well over a million visitors into the city, completely overwhelming roads, medina passages, and every sleeping quarter within thirty miles. If you find yourself in Meknes during the show, the atmosphere is electric and chaotic, crammed with folk musicians and regional stalls, but tranquil wandering around Bab Mansour becomes impossible.
May brings technical meteorological perfection—sun-drenched skies, gentle breezes, and minimal damp. But that perfection is no secret. May carries heavy crowds, packed riad courtyards, and premium prices. It is a splendid month if you do not mind sharing the imperial granaries with coach tours, but it lacks the contemplative hush that gives Meknes its true dignity.
November springs the biggest surprise on the Meknes calendar: it is the most crowded month of the entire year. While northern travelers flee the European autumn for North African sunshine, they find an imperial city that has grown brisk, shady, and remarkably full.
Winter in Meknes is genuinely cold. Unlike the southern desert oases, northern central Morocco sits in an open agricultural bowl ringed by hills, and when the sun drops in January, temperatures plunge toward the low teens and single digits. The historic stone walls of the medina absorb the winter damp and radiate it straight back into the alleys.
Traveling between December and February requires a heavy coat and realistic expectations. You will encounter misty mornings, drizzling skies, and chilly riad salons where braziers work overtime. The upside is atmosphere: the steam rising from bubbling vats of snails in Place el-Hedim and the brooding drama of the city walls under slate-grey skies have an austere, cinematic beauty, provided you pack woolens.
March is the wettest month in Meknes, catching travelers off-guard with sudden, sustained deluges that turn ancient paved inclines into slick waterways. While the high temperatures begin to nudge toward pleasant spring territory, you will spend a substantial portion of your days darting under arched awnings to escape passing storms.
If you visit now, keep your itinerary nimble. Use the clear hours for walking the perimeter of the imperial quarters, and retreat indoors to palace museums and carpet workshops when the skies open. March can be rewarding for budget travelers who appreciate the dramatic shifts in light, but it demands waterproof layers and patience.
Midsummer in Meknes is an endurance trial. Throughout July and August, afternoon temperatures relentlessly breach thirty-six degrees, amplified by high humidity and relentless sun reflecting off miles of baked plaster and stone. Between noon and five in the evening, the city shuts down; streets empty, shutters clamp shut, and attempting to explore the monumental gates feels like walking across an open griddle.
Life shifts entirely to night. Around nine in the evening, Place el-Hedim erupts in nocturnal vitality as families emerge to drink mint tea and eat ice cream under the stars. August also sees the arrival of the Moussem of Sidi Ben Aissa, when members of the Aissawa Sufi order gather outside the walls for trance-like devotional music, processions, and vibrant displays of horsemanship.
Unless you are traveling specifically for the spiritual fervor of the moussem, summer is the worst time to explore the city. The heat confines you indoors for half the daylight hours, stripping away the simple pleasure of an aimless imperial stroll.