MARSA ALAM WEATHER

It almost never rains in Marsa Alam except for rare torrential downpours.  It’s not often that you can spot  clouds, even on the horizon. Summers are very hot, but tempered a little by the sea breeze. Late autumn, early spring and winter temperatures are perfect and the Red Sea is comfortably warm year round, at least during the day although a jacket or jumper may sometimes be an advantage on winter evenings.

With generally cloudless skies, the sunrise over the Red Sea and the sunset over the desert can provide spectacular photo opportunities. For forecasts of the weather for the next few days please use either

• the sixteen day forecast on metcheck.com
• the twenty five day forecast on holiday-weather.com or
• the fourteen day forecast on the BBC website.

or use the climate table a little further down this page for longer term planning.

A FEW GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE CLIMATE

Marsa Alam is one of the southernmost sea resorts in Egypt which also means it is one of the warmest.  It is only 135 miles or 210 km north of the Tropic of Cancer, which means that in late June the sun is almost directly overhead. Fortunately, cooling winds from off the Red Sea usually mean more bearable temperatures than inland. There is, however, little cloud cover – extremely rare in summer and only occasional days of usually light and partial cloud cover in winter.  It usually only rains for one or two days a year and often only very light rain for a short duration.  

Every few years a heavier rainfall, lasting an hour or more, can bring considerable disruption to coastal roads and transport, but this is usually only temporary. In winter the area enjoys much milder night time temperatures than many parts of Egypt which can become surprisingly cold at night.   

FREAK MARSA ALAM WEATHER EVENTS

Marsa Alam has an arid dry climate and it rarely rains but just occasionally, and more often in the winter months, the heavens open for an hour or more and sometimes the consequent flooding is sufficient to damage roads, vehicles and more rarely hotel infrastructure. Sandstorms also cause occasional disruption, especially during the spring Khamsin season, when strong winds can blow hot dry air north eastwards from the desert between late winter and early summer and usually between April and June.

However, don’t worry too much as they don’t usually last very long and they are not usually as severe as the one which struck northern Egypt on 1 June 2023 depicted in the video further down this page. Even in that unusually strong storm which swept across Cairo and later the Suez canal, only one person is known to have died due to the collapse of a giant billboard. However, in the event of any sandstorm, it’s best to seek shelter in advance or as soon as safely possible and to avoid travelling or driving through the storm.

A VIDEO SHOWING THE EXTENT OF FLOODING AT ONE HOTEL

TORRENTIAL RAIN TEMPORARILY CLOSES KEY MARSA ALAM ROAD

A ONCE IN A 100 YEARS HAIL STORM STRIKES RED SEA RESORT

A ROAD TEMPORARILY CLOSED BY HEAVY RAIN NEAR HURGHADA

AN UNUSUALLY SEVERE RED SEA STORM

The video below was posted by what appears to be a Bangladesh news media channel. I should stress that I don’t have other information to either confirm or cast doubt on whether this was actually filmed in the Red Sea.[1]

A RARE LIGHTNING STORM IN OCTOBER 2012

A MORE TYPICAL VIEW – A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET

AND AN EQUALLY SPLENDID SUNRISE

WIND AND CLOUD

The area around Marsa Alam usually has a few days every month with relatively high wind speeds, at least of the type you might describe as a strong breeze.  Such windy weather is common in winter and spring (see the section below on the Khamsin sandstorms), but not infrequent in summer either.    These winds can generate some dust but don’t worry,  it’s very unusual to get the sort of sand storm that you might have seen in Hollywood movies.  Nevertheless the wind can make it dangerous to swim and hotels should then post red flags on their beaches.

There are also occasionally times when you can have some patchy cloud cover for a few days and in summer this can lead to an unwelcome increase in humidity. 

However the silver lining is that when windy and cloudy conditions combine, there are great sun sets, providing the sun is still visible through any slight cloud formations as in the picture below taken at Al Nada Resort, Marsa Alam.

SUNSET OVER THE DESERT

TYPES OF SANDSTORMS

KHAMSIN

During the earlier part of the year, usually starting in April, but occasionally as early as late winter or as late as June, winds from the south can bring hot dry air and often the famous khamsin sandstorms. They occur as the result of low pressure systems moving eastwards over the Sahara or Mediterranean, initially driving hot dry air, northwards or north eastwards from the desert, carrying with them clouds of dust and sand.

They are often followed by winds bringing cooler air southwards from the Mediterranean. The name Khamsin comes from the Arabic, and refers to the fifty day period annually between late March and May when the winds usually occur.

SUMMER THERMAL STORMS

It’s also noteworthy that sandstorms in Egypt can occur at any time of year. This tendency is increasingly due to the impact of climate change. However, Egypt’s Red Sea coast has for centuries experienced occasional summer storms which are usually thermal storms. As the desert floor reaches extreme temperatures (often 40C to 50C), the air above it rises rapidly, creating a vacuum that sucks in cooler air from the sea or surrounding areas.

HABOOB SANDSTORMS

Rarely, sandstorms can create near apocalyptic scenes, looking like a giant, rolling wall of dust and debris, sometimes reaching 2,000 meters (7,000 ft) high and advancing at speeds up to 70 km/h (45 mph) known as the haboob effect, such as the video below of a particularly severe storm which struck northern Egypt on 1 June 2023. This happens when localized thunderstorms in the mountains collapse, creating a downburst of wind that kicks up massive amounts of sand. However, usually, they are not nearly as dramatic.

COLD WINTER SANDSTORMS

Sandstorms can also occur in winter. They are often cold and caused by cold Mediterranean depressions, when a strong cold front moves in from the north, clashing with the warmer desert air. In the second sandstorm video you will see what appears to be a typical winter sandstorm at Port Ghalib in December 2025.

MOUNTAIN GAP WIND TUNNELS

The Red Sea coast is a unique “wind tunnel.” Because of the Red Sea Mountains, the wind gets squeezed through narrow gaps and valleys before hitting the beach. This is why you might see an intense sandstorm in a place like Hurghada or Marsa Alam while the rest of Egypt could be perfectly clear. It’s like blowing through a straw; the wind moves much faster through the small mountain gaps and wadis, picking up sand even when the overall weather isn’t “stormy.”

MARSA ALAM SUNRISE, SUNSET AND WEATHER PHOTOS

FOOTNOTE

1. I only have limited knowledge of extreme Red Sea conditions and the difficulty for me of assessing the actual wave heights not knowing even the dimensions of the ship means I can’t really comment. I can’t see any obvious reason, however, why the channel would post any video about the Red Sea, if they didn’t believe it was filmed in the Red Sea.