At least three tornadoes have battered communities outside Chicago, leveling homes and ripping down trees and power poles. Storms have also grounded flights and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands across the Midwest and Northeast on Thursday. The large column of air swept through Merrillville, Indiana, a town about 33 miles southeast of Chicago. Meanwhile, the nearby manufacturing and farm city of Streator, Illinois, has set up a family reunification center for displaced residents in its city hall as officials took stock of the major damage. The National Weather Service says tornado warnings were also in place in Chicago and in parts of Indiana and Michigan.

Tropical Storm Boris has formed and is expected to bring heavy rain to parts of southern Mexico's Pacific coast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Boris could cause flooding and mudslides, especially in steep areas. On Monday, the storm was located southeast of Acapulco with winds of 40 miles per hour. It was moving northeast at 2 miles per hour. A tropical storm warning is in effect from Laguna de Chacahua in Oaxaca to Tecpan de Galeana in Guerrero. The hurricane center says the storm is forecast to make landfall along the coast of Guerrero by Monday evening. Boris isn’t expected to impact Mexico’s three World Cup host cities.

A new report from the United Nations weather agency gives a three-out-of-four chance that the next five years will average more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. That's the international safety limit set in 2015. There’s an even higher chance — 86% — that one of the next five years will smash the global heat record set in 2024 and next year looks like a leading contender. So expect more extreme weather. The next five winters in the Arctic are predicted to be nearly 3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the last five years. Meteorologists also forecast an Amazon drought that may spark wildfires.

Meteorologists predict a developing El Nino could dampen the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season, but it won't eliminate storms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts a below-average season with fewer named storms and hurricanes. Colorado State University expects the lowest activity since 2015. El Nino is a warming of the central Pacific that typically reduces Atlantic storms by creating strong wind shear that disrupts storm formation. However, El Nino can increase storm activity in the Pacific, affecting regions like Japan and Korea. The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1 and ends November 30.