Tuesday’s storm in the Mother Lode included snow, hail, wind and thunderstorms.

This bolt of lightning was caught on video looking south from Jamestown towards Groveland.

A pilot takes us on a flight over the Sierra Nevada to showcase the dismal amount of snow this year.

“Sting Flight” made this flight in February.

As of April 1 2015, the snowpack was down to 5% of annual average.

Before and after photos show us the severity of California’s drought just over the past four years. These pictures on KTVU 2 television (San Francisco) include Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome and Badger Pass ski area.

(KPIX 5) – California’s drought has become so bad, a community in the Sierra Foothills may run out of water later this year.

Three hours east of San Francisco, next to Lake Don Pedro, the town of La Grange is the kind of place where it’s easy to feel a thousand miles from anywhere. But even here, it’s impossible to escape the drought.

Peter Kampa of the Lake Don Pedro Community Services District describes where the town’s water originates from. “Comes from Lake McClure, which is directly right out of Yosemite National Park,” Kampa told KPIX 5. “Snow melt and rain runoff, right down into the reservoir.”

But one look at that lake is all that is needed to understand how bad things have become.

“This is incredible, I can tell you,” said longtime fisherman Javier Renteria. “I’ve been coming here for the past 20 years, and this is the worst I’ve ever seen.”

In fact, the water is so low, that one can look right through the old railroad tunnels that used to make for catfish habitat.

But the bigger problem is the water line will soon drop below the pumps themselves, meaning the people here will simply run out of water.

“We’re counting back from about mid to late August of this year,” Kampa said.

Plan A: would be cutting releases to nearby waterways, but that would mean getting relief from the state. “A lot of what ifs, whenever you’re dealing with the state water board,” Kampa said.

Plan B: Digging deeper for groundwater, which costs time and money this community doesn’t have.

“We’re right in between two of the biggest reservoirs in the state of California and we’re going to run out of water? That’s really ironic,” said Kampa.

From here, the problems just run downstream to the parched fields of the valley, where farmers have their demands. Caught in the middle are the fish that depend on healthy rivers and creeks.

It’s a tangled, complicated mess that’s really just the new reality – as the drought bears down even harder.

They are called the “mystery booms” of the Mother Lode and they have been rattling local nerves and even the windows of a few homes for quite awhile.

The daytime only booms are heard from Mariposa County to Amador County. Residents in Copperopolis, Twain Harte and Cedar Ridge report them often on social media but they are also heard consistently in Jamestown, Valley Springs, Sierra Village and on the east side of the Sierra Nevada from Markleeville, CA to Minden, NV.

So what are they? A lot of speculators think it is granite blasting from Hawthorne, NV and the mountains carry the sound west, all the way to various locations throughout the Mother Lode.

But that is just a theory.

Most who hear the booms say it sounds like distant thunder. Those who say their windows rattle, typically ask if they are earthquakes.

We’ve linked one of the very few videos that captures the sound of the booms. You’ll have to ignore this Mariposa County resident’s heavy breathing, but if you listen carefully, you’ll hear the booms, typically two at a time.

The mystery of the “mystery booms” in the Mother Lode continues….

Martin O’Malley, the former Governor of Maryland appeared Sunday on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulus”. He talked about his high interest in seeking the 2016 Democratic nomination for President. At times he seemed reluctant to mention the name of the Democrat’s favorite choice for President; Hillary Clinton.

The video is the complete unedited interview.

ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopolous is broadcast every Sunday morning on AM 1450 KVML from 11 am – Noon.

(Sacramento Bee) Three friends hiking the Yosemite Falls trail Friday took a shortcut that left two of them stranded – one overnight – until rescue teams pulled them off the mountain.

The California Highway Patrol said the trio started hiking about 2:30 p.m. Friday and took several hours to reach the falls. Because daylight was dwindling, the group decided to take a shortcut off the trail and down a gulch.

“This was a bad decision due to the difficult terrain, especially in low light,” the CHP said in a news release.

Two of the hikers climbed down a 10- to 12-foot ledge as their friend found his way back to the designated trail and followed it to the valley floor. The two who continued down the ledge ran into trouble when one of them broke his glasses, the CHP said, and had to remain on the ledge.

The remaining hiker, a 22-year-old man, continued down until stopped by a 320-foot cliff, the CHP said. Unable to continue or scramble back up the ledge, he built a fire and settled in for the night, awaiting rescue.

The friend who had returned to the designated trail arrived at the valley floor about 7:30 p.m. and alerted park rangers, who were able to pull the one hiker from the ledge but could not reach the man on the cliff.

Yosemite Search and Rescue contacted the CHP early Saturday and requested a helicopter to hoist the man off the mountain.

CHP officials said the man was unhurt, though shaken up and “very relieved” to be rescued.

“It is very important that visitors stay on designated trails and obey all signs for their safety,” the statement said. “Otherwise, they may find themselves in a similar predicament.”

Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett Packard President, appeared this morning on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace. She said that there is a “ninety percent chance” that she will seek the Republican nomination for President in 2016.

The video is the complete unedited interview.

Fox News Sunday is broadcast every Sunday morning on AM 1450 KVML from 10 – 11 AM.

A new California program is allowing for the installation of water tanks at homes in the most populated communities of Tuolumne County.

Warning: Even This Move Trailer Is PG-13 Graphic

Warning: Even This Move Trailer Is PG-13 graphic

A movie called “Outlaws and Patriots” has been filmed in Tuolumne and Calaveras Counties and this is the trailer.

The movie was screened in Angels Camp on March 14th and will soon be available on DVD.

Several local residents were used in the fictitious film.