Two decades post-Katrina, extreme weather disruptions are no longer rare for U.S. schools
Portland, Ore. (Aug. 26, 2025) — NWEA, a K-12 assessment and research organization, released today a new research brief exploring the impacts of weather-related disruptions to schools. Severe weather events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, are no longer anomalies and are becoming increasingly regular occurrences during the school year for U.S. communities. The new brief titled “The Impact of Severe Weather Events on Education: Revisiting Hurricane Katrina While Preparing for the Next Disaster” addresses two critical questions: how does severe weather disrupt schools and affect the people in them, and which schools and communities are at most risk.
“It’s been 20 years since Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast of the U.S. and demonstrated how natural disasters can fundamentally reshape educational systems – damaging or destroying over 100 schools and destabilizing many of the families they served,” said Dr. Megan Kuhfeld, Director of Growth Modeling and Data Analytics at NWEA. “Last year alone, there were 27 separate weather-related disasters causing at least $1 billion in damages each, trailing a record-setting 28 events in 2023. Understanding the impacts on teaching and learning is essential to helping schools prepare for, and respond to, disruptive weather events.”
The brief shared four main takeaways:
- Many schools face major budget and infrastructure challenges related to severe weather. Amid aging school infrastructure and more frequent severe weather, school districts are having to spend more to replace or repair heating and cooling systems in anticipation of frequent severe weather. Disparities in local funding for school facilities can deepen disparities in student outcomes.
- Teachers need support to meet students’ varied needs. Following a weather-related disruption, teachers often balance meeting students’ academic and mental health needs. They need guidance and support on how to recover lost learning time, as well as additional training on how to handle students’ mental health and behavioral struggles.
- A day of school missed after severe weather can translate to more than a day of learning lost. It’s not a 1:1 correspondence. Missing one day of school due to canceled school days can translate to academic losses that are two to four times greater than the missed instructional time itself.
- No school is totally “low risk”. While some areas and student groups face greater risks, nearly all U.S. school districts must prepare for severe weather, as even historically low-risk regions have recently experienced major floods and wildfires.
Read the full brief at https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/the-impact-of-severe-weather-events-on-education-revisiting-hurricane-katrina-while-preparing-for-the-next-disaster/
About NWEA
NWEA® (a division of HMH) is a mission-driven organization that supports students and educators in more than 146 countries through research, assessment solutions, and professional learning that support our diverse educational communities. Visit NWEA.org to learn more about how we’re partnering with educators to help all kids learn.
Contact: Simona Beattie, Communications Director, simona.beattie@nwea.org or 971.361.9526