Mehamn Webcam – Watch Finnmark’s Nordkyn Fishing Village

The Mehamn Webcam looks out over the rooftops of a fishing village on the north coast of Finnmark, Norway, at 71 degrees north. The white concrete church with its square tower stands on the left of the frame, the houses and streets of the village fill the middle, and the harbor opens on the right, where fishing boats tie up at the quay in the lower corner and the far shore of the bay runs along the horizon. The camera is run by Mehamn.net, a volunteer site two residents keep going to promote their home town, and it streams around the clock: street lights and snow through the winter, a harbor lit all night under the midnight sun in summer.

About Mehamn

Mehamn sits on the Vedvik peninsula, a small spur of the larger Nordkyn peninsula, in Gamvik municipality in Finnmark county. The village had 703 residents in 2023 packed into 0.59 square kilometers (0.23 square miles). Gamvik village lies about 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) to the east and Kjollefjord about 30 kilometers (19 miles) to the southwest. The harbor the camera shows on the right is regarded as one of the best natural harbors in Finnmark.

The church in the left of the frame is Mehamn Church, a long church built in white concrete in 1965. The village’s older history is rougher. In 1884 and 1885 the whaling pioneer Svend Foyn built a whaling station here that became the largest of its kind in Finnmark. On June 2, 1903, after the station’s manager refused to help a fishing boat in trouble, around 2,000 fishermen gathered in the harbor and tore the station down. The village had 123 permanent residents at the time, so the crowd outnumbered the locals more than fifteen to one.

Today the village lives from fishing and seafood. Mehamn Airport, outside the village, has Wideroe flights to Tromso, the Hurtigruten coastal ships call in both directions, and county road 888 links the village to the E6 at Tana bru, roughly two and a half hours to the south.

Weather and Climate in Mehamn

Winter on the Mehamn Webcam is long, dark and windy rather than deeply cold, because the open sea keeps the air from dropping as far as it does inland. January averages about -5 C (23 F), with typical highs near -3 C (27 F) and lows around -7 C (19 F); the record low is -21.4 C (-7 F), set in February. The polar night runs from late November until about January 22, so the camera shows the village under street lights for most of the day, with blue twilight around noon. Snow lies on the roofs from roughly November to April.

Summer is cool. July and August average about 12 C (53 F), with daytime highs near 14 C (57 F) and nights around 9 C (49 F), although the record high reached 31.2 C (88 F) in July. The midnight sun lasts from May 13 to July 31, and during those weeks the webcam never goes dark. Spring and autumn are short: April still averages about 0 C (32 F) with snow on the ground, and October sits near 3 C (38 F). Precipitation is spread evenly through the year at around 70 to 90 millimeters (2.8 to 3.5 inches) a month, 768.6 millimeters (30.26 inches) in all, much of it as sleet and wet snow.

Things to Do Near Mehamn

Mehamn is the starting point for the hike to Kinnarodden, the northernmost point of mainland Europe. The marked route runs about 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) each way across bare rock and boulder fields, takes 10 to 12 hours in each direction, and is normally done as a two-day trip with an overnight stop, about 47 kilometers (29 miles) in all. In the other direction, 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) east past Gamvik, Slettnes Lighthouse is the northernmost lighthouse on any mainland in the world. The tundra around it is a nature reserve with more than 100 bird species, and the Gamvik Museum in the village covers the coastal Sami culture and the fishing history of the peninsula.

In the village, the Nordkyn Hotel and the Mehamn Arctic Hotel both serve fresh cod and local seafood. Nordic Safari runs boat trips to the bird cliffs outside the harbor, where puffins, kittiwakes and white-tailed sea eagles nest in summer. The July festival, Mehamndagan, brings concerts and family events to the streets the camera overlooks.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

Other cameras on Norway’s Arctic coast:

• Hammerfest Webcam
• Tromso Webcam
• Laukvik Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

What can you see on the Mehamn Webcam?

The camera looks across the rooftops of the village. Mehamn Church, white with a square tower, is on the left, the houses and streets are in the middle, and the harbor is on the right, with fishing boats at a quay in the lower corner and the far shore of the bay in the distance. Expect snow and street lights in winter and daylight around the clock in summer.

Where is Mehamn located?

Mehamn is in Gamvik municipality in Finnmark, Norway’s northernmost county, on the Nordkyn peninsula at about 71 degrees north facing the Barents Sea. Gamvik is 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) east, Kjollefjord 30 kilometers (19 miles) southwest, and Tana bru on the E6 about two and a half hours away by road.

What is the weather like in Mehamn?

Cool and windy all year. January averages about -5 C (23 F) and July about 12 C (53 F). The sea keeps winter milder than inland Finnmark, but snow lies from November to April. The polar night lasts from late November to late January, the midnight sun from May 13 to July 31.

Does the Mehamn Webcam show the airport?

No. Mehamn Airport lies outside the village and is not in the frame. The camera covers the church, the houses of the village and the harbor. Flights by Wideroe connect the airport with Tromso.

Can you see the northern lights on the Mehamn Webcam?

Sometimes. Mehamn is well inside the auroral zone, and on a clear, dark night between September and March the camera can pick up the aurora above the harbor. Street lights and the frequent cloud off the Barents Sea mean most nights show nothing, so check a Kp forecast first.

What is the population of Mehamn?

Mehamn had 703 residents in 2023, in an area of 0.59 square kilometers (0.23 square miles). At the time of the 1903 riot it had only 123 permanent residents.

Does the Hurtigruten stop in Mehamn?

Yes. The Hurtigruten coastal ships call at Mehamn in both directions. The northbound ship arrives in the evening and the southbound ship in the middle of the night, so a lit-up ship in the harbor is easiest to spot on the camera in winter.

What is there to do in Mehamn?

Hike to Kinnarodden, the northernmost point of mainland Europe, about 23 kilometers (14.3 miles) each way. Drive to Slettnes Lighthouse and the Gamvik Museum, take a bird safari by boat to the puffin and sea eagle cliffs, or come in winter for the polar night and the aurora.

Source: Mehamn.net