LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Last Friday, Randy Skipper woke up to a 16 degree morning in Marshall County, Kentucky, where he’s spent weeks connecting victims of last month’s devastating tornadoes with the heaps of donations that have arrived in the area.

The frigid Jan. morning highlighted how much has changed since tornadoes hit Mayfield, Bowling Green and areas in between on a 70-degree Dec. night. 

“People don't realize that it's actually winter in Kentucky now,” Skipper said. 

The cold weather comes with another shifting dynamic for many tornado victims, who are beginning to leave the temporary housing they moved into after the storm. 

“A lot of people are trying to transition their family back into their homes,” Skipper said. “The problem is, a lot of them are just kind of half-homes now.”

That means the items that people need are different from the water, food, and toiletries that were so sought after in the days following the tornado. They’ll also need items to help them cope with the cold in homes that, in many cases, are unequipped to keep them warm.

“People are going to need a lot of things like blankets, pillows, and coats,” he said. “Small appliances, especially small electric heaters, are in huge demand.”

The frigid Jan. morning highlighted how much has changed since tornadoes hit Mayfield, Bowling Green and areas in between on a 70-degree Dec. night. 

“People don’t realize that it’s actually winter in Kentucky now,” Skipper said. 

The cold weather comes with another shifting dynamic for many tornado victims, who are leaving the temporary housing they moved into after the storm. 

“A lot of people are trying to transition their family back into their homes,” Skipper said. “The problem is, a lot of them are just kind of half-homes now.”

That means the items that people need differ from the water, food, and toiletries that were so sought after in the days following the tornado. They’ll also need items to help them cope with the cold in homes that, in many cases, are unequipped to keep them warm.

“People are going to need a lot of things like blankets, pillows, and coats,” he said. “Small appliances, especially small electric heaters, are in huge demand.”

The growing need for housing

Its now been six weeks since an EF-4 tornado tore through Western Kentucky, leveling towns, killing 77 people, and forever changing the lives of those who survived.

Many of those people moved into temporary housing. At one point in December, over 900 people were living in hotels and state parks as they cleaned up debris, made repairs to their homes and attempted to find new places to live.

During that time, donations flowed into Western Kentucky and many of the warehouses and storage spaces holding those donations remain full. But Skipper said that is soon to change. 

“As soon as everybody leaves the shelters and has to go back home, they’re going to empty out pretty quick,” he said. 

For some, there is no home to go back to. Several Facebook groups where tornado victims have come together to share information about navigating the recovery are filled with posts from people looking for new apartments and sharing information about housing. The Kentucky Housing Corporation also keeps an updated list of units in the area.

Earlier this month, the Kentucky General Assembly directed tens of millions of dollars to the recovery efforts, including $15 million to purchase FEMA-eligible housing units.

Upon the bill’s passage, Republican Sen. Mike Wilson, who represents Bowling Green, said the area’s biggest need “is temporary, long-term housing.”

Now that the TV crews have largely left town and the public officials have made their visits, Skipper said the phone calls from people looking to deliver donations have died down. But that’s not unique.

“This is not our first disaster,” Skipper said. “It’s kind of the same for two or three weeks. It gets daily attention on the news, and that’s when the massive amounts of goods come pouring in.”

But the donations haven’t stopped. Recently, Skipper and a group of volunteers helped a Murray, Kentucky-based dairy company donate 24,000 carton’s of donated milk. It went to displaced victims of the storm, local schools, and to anyone who wanted it during a giveaway in Marshall County.

The massive milk donation from a Western Kentucky company is an example of what Skipper has seen for weeks — the areas hit hardest by the storms are committed to helping one another.

“This is a pretty tight knit community and a pretty strong faith-based community,” Skipper said. “People are really leaning on each other.”