Good point. They said it would have to lower another three inches this year to beat that 80 year old record. I guess it's premature to get into any serious worrying until that record is broken(at least). I think the scientists are concerned with the raising temps of the lakes. I can think of one theory on this right off the top of my head. I'm mostly familiar with Lake Huron. In the last decade we have had a 'bloom' in the population of zebra muscles. These creatures do a great job of cleaning the water. The water is so clear now you can see the bottom even when it's over 20 feet deep. The bottom of the lake, when the sunlight can reach it, acts like a solar panel. This will warm it to some extent. Also, there has been less ice cover due to global warming or some other reason. Meaning that there are more days each year that the lakes do not have a covering of ice. When there's ice the sunlight is reflected. When they aren't covered you get that solar panel effect.