Photo: Tourist fishing boat sits alone in the empty sea, Nappstraumen, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 10, 2026. 13:52

As Lofoten approaches its last week of the midnight sun season, the sun, unfortunately, still remains an elusive guest in this grey and cool summer Lofoten is having. Tomorrow should be nice and sunny, before clouds then return to dominate most of next week. The high pressure that is cooking western and southern Europe is keeping the north cool and cloudy. As it goes.

I was planning to post a more colourful photo today, of what these mid-July nights could look like, but rather, here is what this year’s mid-July is actually looking like. And this was already after the weather had improved somewhat and the mist cleared away from the sea. Vestvågøy’s highest mountains should be visible in the background, but instead there is a wall of cloud.

As I wrote last week, this is actually perfectly normal weather for Lofoten, though perhaps just not the weather one is hoping for. For now, my bbq remains in the cellar, and my plans to paint the exterior of my house remain on hold until I see an optimistic forecast with several continuous days of sun.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6
100mm
ISO 200
f7.1
1/800 Second
WB Daylight

Photo: Midnight sun over sea, Lofoten Islands, Norway. July 11. 2025. 00:35

The Midnight Sun season is well underway here in Lofoten and the farmers are already out cutting the fields – which is a few weeks earlier than last year. Though for some reason, it feels like summer itself is off to a slow start this year. Besides a handful of days in June, the temperature has remained on the cooler side this year – no beach days yet like the previous years.

And while I might want some warm sunny evenings under the midnight sun, this cool weather is actually completely normal. And after several good summers, Lofoten is due a cooler and wetter one, which might be this year. I remember in 2021 when July was so wet, grey, and cold that I actually went north to Svalbard for better weather! Hopefully I don’t need to go that extreme this year! With many house projects needing attention, I won’t be getting far from Lofoten for a while anyhow.

Hopefully there are still more night like this, with the midnight sun hanging quietly over the sea. Though this year, with myself running some day trips for cruise ship guests, I can’t fully switch to my normal midnight sun schedule and sleep until noon each day.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6
20mm
ISO 64
f7.1
1/1250 Second
WB Daylight