Winter Doesn't Want To Go Away - Nor the Ice on Our Lake

Above, a view of Neklason Lake mid-afternoon today, May 16th.  In some places on our part of the shore, the ice is still two feet thick, if a bit cheesy.

Since we moved into our house on the lake here, we've kept records of a number of seasonal events:

First leaves

The lake free of ice

First Grebes

First Trumpeter swans

First rock garden flower

First mosquito bite

First snow in the fall

Last snow in the spring

..... and so on.

At left is the record of our years here, regarding first leaves and an ice-free lake.  The ice has gone out as early as April 25th (1998), and as late as May 18th (2002).  The latest we've seen leaves open enough to really call them "leaves" (the birch trees) was May 17th, in 2002.

It looks like 2013 will set records for both ice-free lake and birch tree leaves.

This is what we have in store for tomorrow, in a graphic depiction:

And here is the National Weather Service advisory:

Winter Weather Advisory 

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
410 PM AKDT THU MAY 16 2013

...LATE WINTER STORM TO AFFECT AREAS SOUTHEAST OF THE ALASKA RANGE
FRIDAY EVENING THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...

COLD AIR FROM THE NORTH AND PLENTY OF MOISTURE FROM THE GULF OF
ALASKA WILL COMBINE OVER SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA ON FRIDAY. THE
RESULT WILL BE WEATHER MORE TYPICAL OF WINTER...WITH SIGNIFICANT
SNOWFALL NEVER BEFORE SEEN THIS LATE IN THE SEASON.

AKZ111-171330-
/X.NEW.PAFC.WW.Y.0035.130518T0300Z-130518T2100Z/
MATANUSKA VALLEY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PALMER...WASILLA...SUTTON...CHICKALOON
410 PM AKDT THU MAY 16 2013

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM FRIDAY TO
1 PM AKDT SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ANCHORAGE HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM FRIDAY
TO 1 PM AKDT SATURDAY.

* SNOW...4 TO 8 INCHES WITH GREATEST AMOUNTS THROUGH HATCHER PASS.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL BEGIN TO ACCUMULATE AFTER 7 PM FRIDAY AND
  TAPER OFF TO RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS EARLY SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

* IMPACTS...TRAVEL WILL BE DIFFICULT. VISIBILITIES MAY BE LIMITED
  IN HEAVY SNOWFALL.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW
WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW
COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE
DRIVING.

Hopefully, we won't get any hailstones, like this one that fell in north central Texas today: