Very interesting link. Glad they made it out -- it seems things could have gone either way.

It's always the forecast you don't see that'll bite you in the behind. From the story, it seems they checked the forecast the night before, but it had changed significantly by the next morning.

Their concerns about flash flooding seem reasonable, but I'm not clear why they chose to to abandon their tents and sleeping bags instead of just heading for higher ground. Moving around in a bad storm is tricky business. Perhaps there was some other factor leaning them toward a dash to the trailhead, with multiple high/cold stream crossings?

The final choice to go cross-country and climb the ridge, not knowing if it was a likely way out, and with some of the party soaked to the skin, concerns me greatly. I don't know the area, but my first instinct would be to hunker down near the trail in whatever shelter I could put together and try to keep everyone's core temp up.