Will Hurricane Idalia affect gas prices across Arizona?
Aug 31, 2023, 11:00 AM | Updated: 1:53 pm
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — Hurricane Idalia tore through Florida and Georgia in recent days, but don’t expect its damage to have an effect on gas prices in Arizona.
GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan said the storm’s path didn’t affect any refineries, so price increases in the Grand Canyon State won’t be due to Idalia.
“A lot of them are to the west in Louisiana and Texas, but there’s still the possibility that another storm could develop in the weeks ahead,” De Haan told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of areas of interest but so far Idalia has made no impact on price.”
High Arizona gas prices coming to an end soon?
Arizona has been mired with increasing gas prices in recent weeks, but De Haan expects relief soon.
“The good news is we’re just a couple of weeks from making the transition back to cheaper winter gasoline,” De Haan said. “And with it, we should see some price relief arriving in mid-September.”
The Arizona statewide average of $4.30 a gallon was about 50 cents higher than the national average as of Thursday, according to Gas Buddy.
De Haan said once the gasoline blend switches to winter, price drops should stay through next spring.
Once we get on that winter gasoline, it really should not flare up. This should not flare up again, potentially until next spring when we go back to that Arizona-specific blend again.
