Egypt began the new year with rain and port closures in several north-coast cities on Monday, but drier and more pleasant weather expected tomorrow.

The current spell of seasonal bad weather continued for a second day on Monday, with the cities of Alexandria and Matrouh closing their ports to maritime traffic.

Alexandria's Boughazi and Dekheila ports were closed by authorities on Sunday and Monday due to heavy seas and wind speeds above the seasonal average.

Fishermen, meanwhile, halted operations in some places due to the inclement conditions, including in the Mediterranean coastal cities of Damietta and Kafr El-Sheikh.

Conditions are expected to improve on Tuesday, with the Mediterranean and Red sea coasts seeing moderate waves of 1-1.5 and 1.5-2 metres in height respectively.

However, drivers have been warned to take care on Tuesday morning due to the risk of fog on the roads.

Cairo, Sinai and northern cities can expect moderate weather during the daytime on Tuesday, with low temperatures at night.

Cairo and Alexandria should see highs of 19 degrees Celsius and lows of 11 and 12 degrees respectively.

Temperatures in Upper Egypt's Luxor and Aswan during the daytime are expected to hit 20 and 21 degrees respectively, with lows of 8 at night.

The Red Sea resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada will experience highs of 21 and lows of 14 and 12 respectively.

The Sinai town of Saint Catherine is expected to experience a high of 15 and a low of 4.

Egypt sees average highs of 19.4 degrees Celsius in January and lows of 8.4.