A rare and heavy rainfall has changed the Sahara Desert into a landscape of blue lagoons, reviving some of its driest regions, which have gone without rain for decades.

Southeastern Morocco, known for its extreme aridity, seldom sees rainfall in late summer. However, the Moroccan government reported that two days of September rain exceeded annual averages in several areas, including Tata, which was severely affected. In Tagounite, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Rabat, over 100 millimeters (3.9 inches) fell within 24 hours.

The storms created stunning visuals of water rushing through the sandy terrain. NASA satellites captured images of Lake Iriqui—once dry for 50 years—filling with water between Zagora and Tata.

In desert communities popular with tourists, 4x4s navigated through the newfound puddles as residents expressed their amazement at the rare phenomenon. 

“It’s been 30 to 50 years since we’ve had this much rain in such a short space of time," said Houssine Youabeb of Morocco's General Directorate of Meteorology. Meteorologists attribute the rains to an extratropical storm, which could change the region's weather patterns, increasing moisture retention, evaporation, and storm activity.

After six years of drought, many areas in Morocco faced challenges, leading to fallow fields and water rationing in cities and villages. This recent rainfall will help refill the large groundwater aquifers beneath the desert that are relied upon to supply water in desert communities, with reservoirs reporting record refilling rates in September. However, it's unclear how far September's rains will go toward alleviating drought.

While the floods have provided some benefits, they also resulted in over 20 fatalities in Morocco and Algeria and caused damage to crops, prompting the government to allocate emergency relief funds, including for areas still recovering from last year's earthquake.