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Wisconsin gas prices to jump 10 to 25 cents a gallon after Harvey

Posted at 5:36 PM, Aug 29, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-29 18:36:49-04

While we haven't felt a drop of rain from the Harvey, Wisconsinites will feel the impact in their pockets.

Since Harvey made landfall, gas has already gone up about five cents per gallon in Wisconsin and it will only go up from there.

"The Gulf Coast is going to be hit hardest," said Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy. "The Midwest will probably be second hardest hit as well as some areas of the Northeast."

DeHaan said Wisconsin could see a 10 to 25 cent per gallon increase because of the storm. He said the increases will vary across the country but everywhere east of the Rocky Mountains will feel the effects.

However, the increase isn't as bad as it may sound. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a gallon of gas increased by 40 to 50 cents per gallon.

In 2015, there was an unexpected outage at the BP Refinery in Whiting, Ind. and the cost of a gallon of gas increased between 50 and 80 cents per gallon.

It doesn't make it any easier for residents to swallow.

"Putting more money in the tank is not always a good feeling," said Mitchell Tiedt of Milwaukee. "It's not crazy high yet so the increase isn't affecting us as much."

"I'm on a fixed income," said Charles Boyd of Milwaukee. "Everything that goes up hits me. Got to live with it. No reason to complain about it. Nothing I can do about it. Just the way things are."

But even for Boyd, he knows his problems with the increase are nothing compared to what Texans are dealing with right now.

"I feel bad about the people," Boyd said. "I'm not worried about the gas prices right now. We understand those little things happen. My first thought is with the people."

Gas analysts don't expect the increase to last too long. Because of EPA regulations and the Clean Air Act, after Sept. 15, refineries do not have to continue manufacturing a "Summer Blend" of gas. The summer blend burns cleaner and is more costly to the consumer.

So annually, after Sept. 15, the price of a gallon of gas typically dips.