Friday Photo #718 – First Snow

Photo: Autumn snow on the upper half of Himmeltindan, Vestvågøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. October 9, 2026. 09:29

The first autumn snow has dusted the mountains of Lofoten over the last several days, with this morning’s snow line falling to around 400m and a morning temperature of -0.5˚c in Leknes – the first minus temperatures of the season.

Yesterday was a typical autumn day with passing rain and occasional sleet showers out of the north. I even had a brief moment of graupel as I passed over Nappstraumen on the way to Reine. Overall, the snow line was holding at about 600m on most of the mountains in western Lofoten with ground temperates between 4-5˚c during the day. But overnight, the skies cleared and the thermometer dropped into the minus, remaining so in the morning hours of Friday.

There are many reports of slippery roads today and probably the same the next days until the temperatures rise again after the weekend. I still see lots of European camervans and motorhomes around, most of which with summer tires. Probably best for them to avoid driving in the mornings until the sun comes out. But as I wrote last week (Friday Photo #717), the sun is already low in the sky, and some areas of roadway may no longer receive direct sunlight the melt away the ice. This is particularly true in part of Flakstad, where the E10 is often in the shadow of high mountains on its southern side.

This photo is just a snapshot from my window this morning. I was planning to post something from the Reine area yesterday, but the snow wasn’t as visible, as it was mostly just a light dusting on the higher summit. At least here, one can see that its been cold overnight.

Camera Info:
Nikon Z8
Nikon 100-400 f/4.5-5.6
130mm
ISO 100
f7.1
1/640 Seconds
WB Daylight