A brief snapshot of summer: Flowers bloom and ice melts as Alaska enjoys its annual burst of warm weather

By Daily Mail Reporter

From stealthy lynx to dazzling flower blooms, these stunning images show Alaska's brief summer in all its glory.

Temperatures in the Arctic region have jumped from a normal 8C (46F) to a relatively balmy 16C (60F) in recent weeks.

Alaska only glimpses warm sunshine for four weeks each year, in late June and July.

The result is a sudden, beautiful burst of flowers appearing across the northernmost U.S. state.

Summertime: Mount McKinley, the highest peak in North America, is reflected in Reflection Pond in Alaska's Denali National Park at sunset

Temperatures in the Arctic region have jumped from a normal 8C (46F) to a relatively balmy 16C (60F) in recent weeks. Here, Arctic poppies bloom at Highway Pass in Denali National Park

Nature photographer Jon Cornforth, 39 ,from Seattle, was lucky enough to qualify for the holy grail of his field - rarely granted permission to travel independently to photograph in Alaska's Denali National Park.

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He said: 'People are hardly ever allowed to travel in Denali by themselves in their own vehicle - not even local people. And because of the short season I had to make the most of the opportunity.

'In Alaska they joke that June is spring, July is summer and August is fall or autumn as you call it in the UK.

'Every other month is bitter winter. This means that for animals and plants everything happens together.

'Spring is the time when the ice melts. Flowers bloom in the height of summer and once this happens it's pretty much fall.'

Photographer Jon Cornforth captures the moment ice falls into the water from the tidewater face of the Chenega Glacier in Prince William Sound

Dwarf fireweed near the Harriman Glacier in Prince William Sound blooms at sunrise

Mr Cornforth travelled over 3,000miles by land and sea to provide a unique snapshot of the environmental changes in this largely untouched wilderness.

As well as Denali Park, he visited haunting Heather Island and the coast of Prince William Sound.

He explained how his photos of a glacier dramatically crashing into the Atlantic Ocean are a precious record for future generations.

'My picture of the glacier crashing into the sea will not be possible from this location in the years to come,' he said.

'It's one of nature's most spectacular sights and a privilege to be able to witness first hand.

'Eventually the glacier will recede into the land and in years to come these pictures may be all that's left.'

De-iced: Denali mountain is reflected in a tundra pond at sunrise

Dwarf fireweed tenuously grows on recently exposed granite from the retreating Nellie Juan Glacier n Prince William Sound