The coffee crop in Vietnam (VEEXMCFV), the world’s biggest grower of the robusta variety used in instant drinks and espressos, has been given a boost by heavy rainfall, according to officials and growers. Read more.

Eight persons were today killed and three others injured in a lightning strike during torrential rains in the Sunderbans in the South 24-Parganas district. Read more.

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Forecasters are warning of a major tornado outbreak in Kansas and Oklahoma this weekend, with Oklahoma getting a first taste of it on Friday with a tornado touching down near the National Weather Service office in Norman. Read more.

Sure, everything’s bigger in Texas. But 4 feet of hail from one storm? That’s what the National Weather Service, the Texas Department of Transportation, a local sheriff and others say happened Wednesday in an area north of Amarillo when hail piled up in drifts so wide they cut off a major highway. Read more.

Thunderstorms with heavy rain hail and wind are moving across Oklahoma. Storms are moving in a southeast direction and flood advisories have been issued. Read more.

It’s raw and cold outside and we’ve been receiving reports of rain showers and yes – sleet, graupel and snow – in some areas mainly from the District and to the north and west. Accumulating snow has even fallen in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania and in western Maryland. Read more.

Drought-hit East Anglia’s water stocks could be replenished with supplies from the Midlands, it has emerged. Read more.

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The U.S. wildfire season that typically starts in late spring has taken off this month, with crews tackling fires up and down the East Coast in recent days. Read more.

The tornadoes that ripped through the Dallas-Ft. Worth area last week caused up to $500 million in insured losses, a group representing Texas and Oklahoma insurers said. Read more.