Hiker caught in a 2 day storm in Hawaii

Two things:
1. Don't leave your pack.
2. register with the rangers/leave a note
3. Even in Hawaii

In the western US, weather varies with altitude, not latitude. Within 45 minutes of downtown Tucson, AZ (el 2,500) you can reach a ski resort (elev 85,00) in the Santa Catalina Mountains. So at 13,000 feet in Hawaii, it can be winter.

What surprises me is the apparently flaccid SAR response by the NPS, especially since the hiker had registered. More information night clear up this - the usual cautions about drawing conclusions from second hand, sketchy media reports apply here.

Ahem, I think you meant "......varies with altitude and latitude", didn't you? However, the altitude effect certainly does tend to change more dramatically in short distances.

Yeah, latitude is still a factor - i definitely wasn't clear - for a given spot (say in AZ) your altitude is a more important factor than latitude. You have to go pretty far north to achieve the same climate that you can reach within ten miles by climbing.

I understand that a lot of Alaska empties out in February or so, heading down to the Big Island, so latitude does count....

As I recall, for every 1000 foot increase in altitude, temperature in F. goes down 5.5 degrees until you reach the dew point, when it then goes down 3.5 degrees per 1000 feet.

This is a rule of thumb and can be affected by other conditions.

Still, going from sea level to 13,000 feet could drop the temperature as much as 71.5 degrees, ignoring the dew point. So that nice beach day of 72 could go to near zero.

You will need something more than that Hawaiian shirt. . .

Yes, if one has the financial latitude to travel, then a trip to Hawaii is nice in the winter.

It is all a matter of degree....

To get all technical on you , these are the "dry adiabatic lapse rate" and "wet adiabatic lapse rate" respectively. They are indeed very useful, but as you say they are rules of thumb. Other conditions (for example an inversion) can cause actual temperatures to vary considerably from these. The difference between the wet and dry lapse rates are the cause behind such phenomena as the "Chinook" or "Foehn" winds (AKA "snoweater wind") which sometimes cause dramatic snow melting on the leeward side of mountainous regions.

Been Caught in Snow Storms in Every Month of the Year, Nice to see it happens in Hawaii! Higher Elevations always means the potential for worse weather and the potential to not see the changing weather until its on top of you. That's why they taught me in Scouts to "Be Prepared"

A near miss for the light and fast crowd. Glad he made it. Dropping your pack for the summit is a bad idea IMHO.

Respectfully,

Jerry

Full capability for the 'Fast and Light' crowd is available, which will give very good safety margins in poor weather conditions. Ditching your pack for the final ascent was a very poor decision, which almost cost this climber his life.

For example;

Terra Nova Quasar 30 Pack - 590 grams
NeoAir™ All Season ground pad - 510 grams
Terra Nova Laser Ultra 1 Tent - 590 grams
PHD Minim Ultra Down Sleeping Bag - 670 grams -5°C (23°F)
Jet Boil Sol Titanium Stove - 240 grams
100 gram Butane/Propane gas Cartridge - 160 grams

Total - 2760 grams = 6lbs base pack weight.

You will need a fat heavy Wallet though!