By Dr. Megan Kuhfeld
From Hurricane Helene in 2024 to wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year, extreme weather events are disrupting schooling for millions of students across the U.S. In the 2024–25 school year alone, nearly 10,000 schools were forced to temporarily close due to weather-related incidents. These closures and interruptions come at a cost.
According to federal data, there were 27 separate weather-related disasters in 2024 with at least $1 billion in damage each, and that’s just shy of the record-setting 28 events in 2023. The impacts of this damage go beyond just physical destruction and effects on infrastructure. These events can disrupt a multitude of aspects of children’s lives, including academic progress, sense of security, and physical well-being.
With peak hurricane and wildfire season coinciding with back to school for millions of American students, school leaders face growing pressure to plan for weather-related closures and their far-reaching impacts. NWEA researchers examined these impacts in a recently published report that dove into the effects that weather-related disruptions have on schools, teachers, and students.
The report highlighted four key findings:
1. Severe weather strains school budgets and infrastructure, complicating efforts to keep schools safe and operational
As of 2020, more than half of U.S. school districts needed multiple HVAC system updates, and more than 10,000 public schools who did not have cooling systems in 1970 now needed them (at an estimated cost of $40 billion). Given the age and poor conditions of school buildings nationwide, districts must add funding facilities and infrastructure as part of their budget planning.
2. Teachers need support to appropriately address students’ academic and mental health needs following weather-related school disruptions
Teachers play a central role in helping students recover academically and emotionally after a disaster; however, their own needs are often deprioritized as school infrastructure and operational recovery are put at the top of the list.
3. Days missed require more time to catch up
A collection of research into the effects of school closures due to weather disasters found that it’s not a one-to-one equivalent between days missed and days needed to make up the instructional time. Canceled school days can translate to academic losses that are two to four times greater than the missed instructional time itself.
4. No region is low risk
While some areas face known risks, no U.S. region is fully safe from extreme weather and natural disasters. In recent years, historically lower-risk areas—like western North Carolina and Los Angeles suburbs—have experienced major damage from floods and wildfires. While some schools are especially vulnerable, all districts should prepare for severe weather events and their impact on teaching and learning.
Across these findings, the urgency and necessity for school districts to appropriately plan both financially and operationally is clear.
Increasingly, severe weather events are becoming more of a question of when, not if. Now is the time to ensure schools are more resilient to natural disasters so that they can continue to serve students’ needs even during times of unprecedented weather-related disruptions.
Dr. Megan Kuhfeld is the director of growth modeling and analytics for NWEA, which supports students and educators through research, assessment solutions, policy and advocacy, and professional learning.
