Hurricaneland. Unless you are SUUUUUUUPER on point with booking a room well in advance at the far edges of the state, you are definitely driving out of it and likely a good bit away. I've had friends who needed to drive to Tennessee from New Orleans, and when the last major storm that hit the NOLA area, my parents asked me to check hotels in Dallas but they were all booked.

Probably hurricane strike zone. It's not weird to travel that far to get out of the way of a hurricane. Usually because that's when lodging becomes available. I did it every few years as a kid.