Hurricane-Season Garage Storage for South Florida Homes

• The National Hurricane Center lists the season as June 1 to November 30, peaking around September 10.
• Store panels in the order you'll hang them, with each one's hardware in a labeled bin.
• Never run a generator in a garage, even with the door open, and never store gasoline near a fuel-burning appliance such as a gas water heater.
• Keep food, medicine and documents inside the house; keep hardware, tools and the generator in the garage.
• Get everything off the slab. No cabinet is floodproof, but contents up on the wall stay out of shallow water.

The garage becomes the staging area. Ready.gov tells you to bring in outside furniture before a storm, and patio sets, umbrellas and planters usually land on the garage floor. If that floor is already full, prep turns into a scramble.

The garage door matters too. According to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), post-storm investigations show that more than 90% of house damage in severe wind events begins when garage doors separate from their mounting, collapse or cave in. FLASH suggests checking the door's brackets and its wind-rating label, and bracing a door that isn't wind-rated. Keep the space in front of the door and its tracks clear so braces can go in quickly.

For quantities, Ready.gov recommends one gallon of water per person per day, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management recommends a kit that lasts at least seven days. That's 28 gallons for a family of four, which is a lot of weight and floor space to plan for.

Storm panels are bulky and awkward, and the hardest part of putting them up is finding the right one. Number each panel to match its window, store them upright along a side wall near the door in that order, and keep the hardware and a drill in one labeled bin beside them.

Overhead racks are good for light, bulky seasonal things, such as coolers and empty bins, that free up wall space for the panels. Our overhead racks are placed so they don't interfere with the garage door, and the framing above has to be sound. Izzy B. wrote that because the beams and studs weren't aligned when the house was built, the installers "had to add their own reinforcement to make it safe."

• Never run it inside. The CDC warns never to use a generator inside your home, garage or carport, and to keep it at least 20 feet from doors and windows. CPSC adds that this holds even with ventilation.
• Let it cool before refueling. Ready.gov notes that fuel spilled on hot engine parts can ignite.
• Store fuel away from the water heater. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says never to store gasoline in the home or near a fuel-burning appliance, such as a natural gas water heater in a garage.
• Install carbon monoxide alarms. Ready.gov recommends a working detector on every level of your home.

Store the generator where it can roll straight out the door, and plan the fuel cans' spot on the opposite side of the garage from any gas appliance.

If your water heater lives in the garage, keep the area around it clear. The CDC lists the water heater tank as a source of clean water in an emergency, so you need to reach its drain valve. After a flood, CPSC warns not to use gas appliances that have been submerged, and Ready.gov says not to touch electrical equipment that is wet.

FEMA's Protect Your Property From Flooding recommends raising water heaters and other utilities at least 12 inches above the base flood elevation, a job for a licensed plumber. It also says to keep valuables and documents in waterproof containers above that level. Find your flood risk on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and your evacuation zone on the state's Know Your Zone page.

Our garage cabinets mount on the wall, which keeps the cabinets and their contents off the slab and lets you sweep underneath. They're wood with a melamine coating that resists moisture, with stainless steel hardware. No cabinet is waterproof, though, so keep anything irreplaceable inside and up high.

1. Check the garage door's brackets, track and wind-rating label, and decide where braces will go.
2. Count panels and hardware, and replace missing wing nuts.
3. Run the generator outdoors per its manual and check your fuel containers.
4. Restock water and supplies for at least seven days.
5. Clear a floor zone for patio furniture.
6. Move documents inside to a waterproof container, and test your carbon monoxide alarms.

The best time to set up a garage is before the season starts. Book a free in-home design consultation: your designer measures the garage, plans cabinets, racks and slatwall around a clear floor zone, a panel wall and a path for the generator in a 3D design with you, and gives you a quote. We work across the area, including Fort Lauderdale garage storage. For year-round advice, read what not to store in your garage.

All accessed October 9, 2026.

• National Hurricane Center, Tropical Cyclone Climatology.
• Ready.gov, Hurricanes, Build a Kit, Power Outages and Floods.
• Florida Division of Emergency Management, Plan and Prepare and Know Your Zone, Know Your Home.
• FEMA, Flood Map Service Center.
• CDC, Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Poisoning and How to Find Clean Water in an Emergency.
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, post-storm hazards from generators, candles and wet appliances, August 12, 2004.
• FEMA, Protect Your Property From Flooding, 2023.
• Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), Strengthen Your Garage Door, May 2025.