Political cartoons: Tornadoes, flooding hammer Southeast and Midwest

Southeastern and Midwestern states have been battered over the last two weeks in a record-setting 12 consecutive days of at least eight confirmed tornadoes on each day. In May alone 442 tornadoes have been reported in the United States through NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center.

The last 11-day stretch of as many tornadoes per day ended on June 7, 1980, according to the Associated Press. As of this week, the NWS Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma has confirmed at least 38 deaths this year related to the twisters. Scientists say climate change is somewhat responsible for the twisters, which are being driven by high pressure over the Southeast and an unusual, cold trough over the Rockies that forced warm, moist air into central states.

Flooding in the same region is also setting records, with eight states along the Mississippi River now 90 days into the longest lasting overflow since the deadly Great Flood of 1927, USA Today reported.