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Hurricane Harvey expected to raise gas prices in Florida

in Apolitical/Top Headlines by

As Hurricane Harvey bears down on the Texas coast, gasoline prices in Florida are expected to jump in the next week.

Oil refineries sit in the projected path of the storm, and much of the gas that Florida receives is shipped across the Gulf of Mexico from those refineries.

W.D. Williams, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club, said prices could jump between 10 and 30 cents over the next week, depending on how bad the storm is.

“When the refineries are impacted by a storm such as a hurricane, it shuts them down,” Williams said. “The wind interrupts the power supply. You’ll have flooding that interrupts operations. That means there is going to be no gasoline being produced for a bit of time.”

Williams said a Category 1 storm would cause a delay in refining operations for about one week. A Category 2 storm could affect the plants for two weeks, and if Harvey is a Category 3 storm or larger, some refineries could be offline for up to three weeks.

Harvey is predicted to make landfall on the Texas coast late Friday or early Saturday.

Republished with permission of the News Service of Florida.

The News Service of Florida provides journalists, lobbyists, government officials and other civic leaders with comprehensive, objective information about the activities of state government year-round.

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