Hiker suffers hypothermia during trek on New England's highest peak amid East Coast heat wave
In a striking contrast to the sweltering heat gripping much of the East Coast, a 55-year-old hiker from Texas was rescued in frigid and treacherous conditions Friday evening from the high peaks of New Hampshire's White Mountains.
Caroline Wilson, 55, of Austin, Texas, was found hypothermic and unresponsive on the Gulfside Trail, approximately one mile north of the Cog Railway tracks, while hiking Mount Washington, New England's highest peak, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a release.
The department said Wilson became incapacitated during the hike, prompting her husband to call 911 at 5 p.m. He told authorities that she could no longer move or communicate.
Conservation Officer Rachael Stocker told Fox News Digital that she assisted in the rescue mission, and said Wilson was wearing cotton base layers during her trek. She said cotton is not the best to wear during hiking because the material is absorbant to sweat.
She noted that on Friday, it was raining intermittently, causing the 55-year-old to succumb to the elements and suffer from severe hypothermia.
3 Caroline Wilson, 55, of Austin, Texas, was found hypothermic and unresponsive on the Gulfside Trail.
New Hampshire Fish and Game
'The White Mountains can be pretty unforgiving,' she said. 'Weather changes here in a flash.' Photos from the scene of the rescue captured the misty environment and steep rocky terrain.
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department conservation officers, along with volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue, Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue, Mountain Rescue Service and personnel from the Mount Washington Cog Railway, mounted a complex response in severe alpine conditions to rescue Wilson.
Despite a heat wave sweeping cities from Boston to Baltimore, conditions above 5,000 feet in the White Mountains were anything but warm. On the summit of Mount Washington on Friday, temperatures hovered around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, with wind speeds reaching 120 mph and dense cloud cover reducing visibility.
3 Temperatures were just 20 degrees Fahrenheit on the summit of Mount Washington on Friday.
New Hampshire Fish and Game
Several hikers in the region were reported suffering from hypothermia throughout the day, the department noted.
The Cog Railway played a crucial role in the rescue operation, transporting rescue teams up the mountain and sparing them a grueling three-mile ascent via the Jewell Trail, the department said.
The first rescue team reached the ridgeline at 7 p.m., with a second team arriving an hour later. Rescuers battled high winds and cold as they built a temporary shelter to stabilize Wilson before carrying her back to the waiting train.
3 The first rescue team reached the ridgeline at 7 p.m., with a second team arriving an hour later.
New Hampshire Fish and Game
Upon arrival at the base station, Wilson was handed over to a Twin Mountain ambulance crew and transported to Littleton Regional Healthcare for further treatment, the department said.
Officials credited the successful outcome to the tireless efforts of rescue volunteers and the Cog Railway's continued support in emergency efforts.
'The weather was not great and the conditions were potentially life-threatening,' a department said, 'but each group responded to the call for assistance and endured less-than-hospitable weather conditions to save the life of this hiker.'
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New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
Hiker suffers hypothermia during trek on New England's highest peak amid East Coast heat wave
In a striking contrast to the sweltering heat gripping much of the East Coast, a 55-year-old hiker from Texas was rescued in frigid and treacherous conditions Friday evening from the high peaks of New Hampshire's White Mountains. Caroline Wilson, 55, of Austin, Texas, was found hypothermic and unresponsive on the Gulfside Trail, approximately one mile north of the Cog Railway tracks, while hiking Mount Washington, New England's highest peak, the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a release. The department said Wilson became incapacitated during the hike, prompting her husband to call 911 at 5 p.m. He told authorities that she could no longer move or communicate. Conservation Officer Rachael Stocker told Fox News Digital that she assisted in the rescue mission, and said Wilson was wearing cotton base layers during her trek. She said cotton is not the best to wear during hiking because the material is absorbant to sweat. She noted that on Friday, it was raining intermittently, causing the 55-year-old to succumb to the elements and suffer from severe hypothermia. 3 Caroline Wilson, 55, of Austin, Texas, was found hypothermic and unresponsive on the Gulfside Trail. New Hampshire Fish and Game 'The White Mountains can be pretty unforgiving,' she said. 'Weather changes here in a flash.' Photos from the scene of the rescue captured the misty environment and steep rocky terrain. New Hampshire Fish and Game Department conservation officers, along with volunteers from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue, Pemigewassett Valley Search and Rescue, Mountain Rescue Service and personnel from the Mount Washington Cog Railway, mounted a complex response in severe alpine conditions to rescue Wilson. Despite a heat wave sweeping cities from Boston to Baltimore, conditions above 5,000 feet in the White Mountains were anything but warm. On the summit of Mount Washington on Friday, temperatures hovered around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, with wind speeds reaching 120 mph and dense cloud cover reducing visibility. 3 Temperatures were just 20 degrees Fahrenheit on the summit of Mount Washington on Friday. New Hampshire Fish and Game Several hikers in the region were reported suffering from hypothermia throughout the day, the department noted. The Cog Railway played a crucial role in the rescue operation, transporting rescue teams up the mountain and sparing them a grueling three-mile ascent via the Jewell Trail, the department said. The first rescue team reached the ridgeline at 7 p.m., with a second team arriving an hour later. Rescuers battled high winds and cold as they built a temporary shelter to stabilize Wilson before carrying her back to the waiting train. 3 The first rescue team reached the ridgeline at 7 p.m., with a second team arriving an hour later. New Hampshire Fish and Game Upon arrival at the base station, Wilson was handed over to a Twin Mountain ambulance crew and transported to Littleton Regional Healthcare for further treatment, the department said. Officials credited the successful outcome to the tireless efforts of rescue volunteers and the Cog Railway's continued support in emergency efforts. 'The weather was not great and the conditions were potentially life-threatening,' a department said, 'but each group responded to the call for assistance and endured less-than-hospitable weather conditions to save the life of this hiker.'
7 hours ago
Early-season heat dome brings highest temperatures in years to parts of Eastern US
NEW YORK -- An intense and nearly historic weather pattern is cooking much of America under a dangerous heat dome this week with triple-digit temperatures in places that haven't been so hot in more than a decade. The heat wave is especially threatening because it's hitting cities like Boston, New York and Philadelphia early in the summer when people haven't gotten their bodies adapted to the broiling conditions, several meteorologists said. The dome of high pressure that's parking over the eastern United States is trapping hot air from the Southwest that already made an uncomfortable stop in the Midwest. A key measurement of the strength of the high pressure broke a record Monday and was the third-highest reading for any date, making for a 'near historic' heat wave, said private meteorologist Ryan Maue, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist. The worst of the heat was likely to peak for Northeastern cities on Tuesday, forecasters said. 'Like an air fryer, it's going to be hot," Maue said. 'This is a three-day stretch of dangerous heat that will test the mettle of city dwellers who are most vulnerable to oppressive heat waves.' A heat dome occurs when a large area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere acts as a reservoir, trapping heat and humidity. A heat wave is the persistence of heat, usually three days or more, with unusually hot temperatures. Nearly three-quarters of the country's population — 245 million people — will swelter with 90 degrees Fahrenheit (about 32 Celsius) or higher temperatures on Monday, and 33 million people, almost 10% of the country, will feel blistering 100-degree heat (about 38 Celsius) on Tuesday, Maue said. The government's heat health website showed the highest level of heat risk in swaths from Chicago to Pittsburgh and North Carolina to New York. Those triple-digit air temperatures — with the feels-like index even worse because of humidity — are possible in places where it's unusual. New York hasn't seen 100 degrees since 2011 and Philadelphia, which is forecast to have consecutive triple-digit days, hasn't reached that mark since 2012, said Climate Central chief meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky. In downtown Baltimore, temperatures climbed into the high 90s by early Monday afternoon, bringing dozens of people to cool off at St. Vincent de Paul's resource center. A few blocks away, the city's historic Broadway Market food hall closed early when the building's air conditioning broke. The heat forced the cancellation of events in west Baltimore, said Eric Davis Sr., who spends most of his days working at a baseball field there. 'You can't have kids getting heat stroke,' he said. 'It's just too hot today.' NOAA meteorologist David Roth said it takes time to acclimate to summer heat and this heat dome could be a shock for some. 'You're talking about some places that could be 40 degrees warmer than last week. So that's a big deal,' he said. The heat is part of Earth's long-term warming. Summers in the United States are 2.4 degrees (1.3 degrees Celsius) hotter than 50 years ago, according to NOAA data. Human-caused climate change has made this heat wave three times more likely than without the burning of coal, oil and gas, the climate science nonprofit Climate Central calculated, using computer simulations comparing the current weather to a fictional world without the industrial greenhouse gases. A key question is how much humidity will add to the discomfort and danger of the heat. Maue is forecasting dry air which may be a degree or two or three hotter than predicted by NOAA, but more comfortable. Other meteorologists expected worse: Sticky, humid and even more dangerous. "The 'big deal' will be with the humidity being provided with the wet late spring conditions," said University of Oklahoma meteorology professor Jason Furtado. 'The area of high pressure will allow for a lot of evaporation to occur from the wet grounds locally and regionally, which will increase the heat indices quite a bit.' Woods Placky said to expect dew points, a key measure of humidity, in the 70s. That's downright tropical, with some places approaching a dew point of 80 — a level Woods Placky said feels like 'you're in a swimming pool' and 'the atmosphere is absorbing you.' If this heat were later in the summer, it might not be as dangerous because the human body can adjust to the seasonably warmer temperatures, but this one is coming within days of the solstice, Woods Placky and others said. 'It will be a shock to the system,' she said. Associated Press writers Isabella O'Malley in Philadelphia and Lea Skene in Baltimore contributed. ___
7 hours ago
Exercising or playing sports in extreme heat can be extremely dangerous
Extreme heat makes it especially hard for your body to cool down, so you need to be extra careful if you exercise or play sports when it's baking outside. Your brain tries to keep your body within a degree or two of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius), and it does so in part by triggering sweat. When sweat dries, it carries away heat from your body's surface. When sweat can't do its job — because your body is generating a lot of heat or it's too hot and humid to cool down — you are at risk of becoming dehydrated or even getting a heat-related illness such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke. The higher the temperature, the harder it is for the body to stay cool, but humidity plays a big role too. High humidity makes it feel hotter than the temperature because it makes sweating less effective. There's so much water in the air already that it can't take up much more — including the water in your sweat. The heat index, which factors in humidity and is included on many weather forecasts, provides a sense of how hot it really feels — and what's dangerous for prolonged exposure or strenuous activity. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says people should start exercising 'caution' when the heat index reaches 80 to 90 degrees and 'extreme caution' from 90 to 103 degrees. It labels everything over 103 'danger' or 'extreme danger." NOAA has a chart that shows how the heat index is affected by humidity. For example, a day that is 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) can hit the 'danger' level with 70% humidity. If you want to exercise in the heat, here are some tips to say safe, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Time your exercise and outdoor activities for the coolest parts of the day. — Try to exercise in the shade as much as possible. — Take frequent breaks. — Drink lots of fluids, and limit drinks that are high in sugar, caffeine and alcohol. Don't wait until your are thirsty to drink more. — Exercise with someone so you can check on each other, or pair up with a teammate. If you start to feel any of these symptoms, stop exercising, get to a cool place and seek medical care: — Muscle cramping or muscle weakness — Shortness of breath — Dizziness — Headaches — Nausea A common heat-related illness is heat exhaustion, which can be marked by rapid heartbeat, fast breathing, headache, nausea and muscle weakness or cramping. It can develop into the more serious heat stroke, when your body can no longer control its temperature. Symptoms include confusion or slurred speech, seizures or even loss of consciousness. Heat also increases your risk for a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis, which causes the rapid breakdown of muscles. If you think you or a fellow athlete are in danger, call 911, give them fluids — preferably water — and try to cool their bodies with cold water or cold compresses. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
