Good posts on Whitneyzone.com. And after reading the TRs, one can't help to think how many people decided to push on because they knew they didn't have a permit to hike Whitney for the next day. That's one of my concerns about the current Half Dome permit system. People climbing Half Dome might make the same mistake of pushing on because they won't have a chance to climb it the next day.
A possible solution to this dilemma, at least in regards to Half Dome, would be if inclement weather (lighting) makes ascending the Half Dome Cables too risky, the Park Service could have the ranger(s) on duty at the base of the cables extend or change a hikers permit for another day.
Yes, that would possibly make the cables a bit more crowded the next couple of days after a storm, but it would help discourage people from making a risky choice to push on.