From The Detroit News, Feb. 1, 2013, by Jim Lynch:
Lake Michigan (Photo by Bitsorf.)
Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water levels are at all-time lows of 576.02 feet above sea level, beating the former low from 1964.
“Gov. Rick Snyder next week is expected to announce emergency action to help dredge harbors in Michigan because the state counts on tourism and other industries that require access to the lakes.
“Shorelines are extending, canals are getting dangerously dry and access to the shore is literally drying up for some residents.
“Meantime, what’s happening in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron could have longer-range impacts on the other downstream lakes. Each of the Great Lakes currently sits far below its long-term average. Years of drought-like conditions in much of the region were exacerbated when last year’s winter produced little snow and the spring season produced little rain.
“The snow and ice that accumulate in the upper Great Lakes during the late fall and winter, particularly in and around Lake Superior, create the runoff that dictates how high or low the levels will sink during the year.”