Hurricane Ian May Drive Gas Prices Even Higher

Gas Prices at a Shell Station in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida on September 27.

Gas Prices at a Shell Station in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida on September 27.Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)

You may have noticed that gas prices have been on the rise just a bit over the past week. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas now sits at $3.75. That’s up $0.07 from the end of a 99-day straight decrease that ended September 21.

As for what happens next with gas prices, it’s a bit tricky to tell, since there are all sorts of factors going both ways.

In the “prices going down” corner we have: low demand for gas and the price of oil dropping.

In the “prices going up corner” we have: refinery issues (such as planned maintenance and a fire) and… a hurricane.

“Slack demand and lower oil prices should take some pressure off rising gas prices,” Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, said “But Hurricane Ian could cause problems, depending on the storm’s track, by disrupting oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and impacting large coastal refineries.”

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So, what have we learned from this? Well, for starters, it’s basically impossible to tell where gas prices will go. If I had to give an educated guess, I would say they will continue to trend upwards, but at a much slower rate than would be if there was a higher demand for the dinosaur juice. At the end of the day all we can really say is… what are ya gonna do?

Hope you enjoyed that. Anyway, let’s take a look at gas prices around the country.

Here is the highest average gas prices in the country in order of highest price for a gallon regular:

California – $5.88 Regular | $6.03 Mid | $6.20 Premium | $6.28 Diesel

Hawaii – $5.24 Regular | $5.48 Mid | $5.71 Premium | $6.11 Diesel

Oregon – $5.14 Regular | $5.17 Mid | $5.40 Premium | $5.46 Diesel

Nevada – $5.12 Regular | $5.32 Mid | $5.55 Premium | $5.20 Diesel

Washington – $5.02 Regular | $5.12 Mid | $5.33 Premium | $5.45 Diesel

Here is the lowest average price of gasoline in the country in order of lowest price per gallon of regular:

Mississippi – $3.07 Regular | $3.44 Mid | $3.80 Premium | $4.53 Diesel

Texas – $3.11 Regular | $3.49 Mid | $4.82 Premium | $4.46 Diesel

Louisiana – $3.12 Regular | $3.48 Mid | $3.84 Premium | $4.60 Diesel

Georgia – $3.15 Regular | $3.53 Mid | $3.92 Premium | $4.59 Diesel