Gas Prices Expected to Go Up Thanks to Tropical Storms in Gulf

Anyone else hit the point in this pandemic where you hear more bad news and it just makes you laugh?

One of the bad habits that I just can't kick is laughing in awkward/high-pressure situations. Maybe it's my way of dealing with bad news and keeping myself from freaking out? I don't know, but it seems to be happening more often these days because...2020.

While reading an Associated Press article this morning about the impacts Hurricane Marco and Tropical Storm Laura are already having in the Gulf, it happened again. Obviously, there is nothing laughable about these storms, but come on, 2020, can't you just cut us a dang break?!?

Anywho, this AP article said that oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico has been slowed and that production companies have already evacuated workers from over 100 oil rigs in the Gulf due to the advancement of these tropical storms.

So, what does this mean for us in the Stateline? It's very likely we will be paying more at the gas pumps soon.

WIFR Chief Meteorologist Mark Henderson also validated this possibility when writing this on his personal Facebook;

FILL UP ASAP: Just some friendly advice... I'd HIGHLY recommend filing up your gas tank ASAP. Looking at the latest data, it's likely, if not certain, that hundreds of oil platforms will be evacuated and shut down on the Gulf Coast, potentially for several days, as two tropical systems (Marco, and then Laura) approach the U.S. mainland. There will be at least some interruption to our domestic oil supply, and, contingent on the strength of the latter storm, a somewhat lengthy disruption isn't to be entirely ruled out. Regardless, pump prices are certain to surge in the coming days as a result of these two tropical systems.

Awesome.

Ready for the silver lining? Experts say that gas inventories are high right now thanks to COVID-19, so perhaps the halting of gas and oil production won't affect us, (and gas prices), as deeply as it would in non-pandemic times.

Catch Lil Zim on ‘Q98.5 Mornings with Lil Zim & JB’ on Q98.5 from 6:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook