Florida Carrier Warns Quiet Hurricane Season Is Creating False Confidence for Fall Moves

On the anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, a licensed Fort Lauderdale carrier explains how to time an interstate move during the season's peak months.

FT LAUDERDALE, FL, UNITED STATES, August 24, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Thirty-four years ago today, Hurricane Andrew came ashore at Homestead as a Category 5 storm with 165 mph sustained winds. The 2026 Atlantic season has so far produced two named storms and no hurricanes, and NOAA's August outlook maintained a below-normal forecast for the remainder of the year.

Direct Relocation Services, a licensed direct interstate carrier headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, is warning that the quiet season is producing a false sense of security among Florida households planning fall relocations — and that September and October remain the statistical peak of Atlantic activity regardless of how the summer has gone.

"A quiet August tells you nothing about September," said Justin Perez, co-founder of Direct Relocation Services. "We have been moving families out of Florida since 2015, and the pattern we see every year is that people book later when the season looks calm. Then a system forms, the roads are affected, and the same households are trying to move on a compressed schedule with whoever is available. That is when people end up with a company they did not vet."

Storm disruption is a carrier accountability question

The company says the most consequential decision a household makes ahead of moving across state lines from Florida is not the date — it is whether the company they hire is the company that will actually transport their belongings.

Many companies advertising interstate moves are brokers, which arrange transportation performed by a separate carrier. When a named storm delays a shipment already in transit, that distinction determines who is legally accountable for the goods and who the customer can actually reach.

"If your shipment is sitting somewhere between Florida and Denver and a storm has closed a corridor, you need to call the company that has your belongings," Perez said. "If you booked through a broker, that is not the company you have a relationship with. You are calling a dispatcher to ask them to call a carrier you have never spoken to."

Direct Relocation Services operates under its own federal authority — USDOT #3000931, Entity Type: CARRIER, Broker Authority: NONE — verifiable by any consumer at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov. The company holds no broker authority and does not sell shipments to other carriers.

Guidance for Florida households moving interstate this fall

Book earlier than you think you need to. Interstate capacity out of Florida tightens sharply when a storm is forecast, because relocation traffic and evacuation traffic compete for the same equipment. Four to six weeks of lead time is reasonable in a normal month. Six to eight is more realistic for the fall.

Get a binding estimate, not a range. Schedule disruption is when non-binding estimates turn into disputes. Households comparing long distance moving quotes should confirm the price is fixed against a documented inventory, so a weather delay does not become a pricing negotiation on delivery day.

Verify federal authority before you pay anything. Every legitimate interstate mover has a USDOT number that resolves to an active operating authority. Consumers can check entity type and authority status at safer.fmcsa.dot.gov before signing.

Get the delivery window in writing. Understand what the contract says about weather delays, what the spread is, and who communicates with you if it changes.

Document your inventory before pickup. Photograph high-value items. Confirm the itemized inventory matches what leaves the house and keep your copy.

Ask who is physically transporting the shipment. If the answer is not the company taking your deposit, ask why.

Direct Relocation Services is a licensed direct interstate household goods carrier headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Founded in 2015 by Justin Perez and Diego Asorey, the company originates moves exclusively from Florida and Georgia and delivers to all 48 contiguous states. USDOT #3000931 | MC #24036 | FL IM2964 | Broker Authority: NONE. BBB A-Rated and Accredited with more than 2,000 verified reviews across nine independent platforms. Featured by AP News, the USA TODAY Network, National Law Review, Redfin, The Palm Beach Post, and WFLA NBC 8 Tampa. Proud partner of Move For Hunger. For more information visit directrelocationservices.com or call 855.378.3110.

Justin Perez
Direct Relocation Services
+1 8553783110
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