Hurricane Ian’s Impact at the Pump on the Seacoast

The remnants of Hurricane Ian will not affect the Seacoast with any severe weather or price increases at the gas pump.

The storm pummeled Florida with 150 mph winds and soaking rain as it made landfall near Fort Myers. It re-intensified into a Category 1 hurricane, making landfall Friday morning in South Carolina. The storm will move through western North Carolina and Virginia before tracking to the east over Pennsylvania and New Jersey, then into the Atlantic Ocean.

Over two million people are without power in Florida, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

A strong, high pressure area will keep Ian to the south, preventing rain from going much further north than the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border. Saturday will be cloudy with the chance of light rain or showers.

Ian Stays Out of the Gulf

Ian's track kept it away from oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and did not interrupt production, according to AAA New England spokesman Dan Goodman.

"The storm is not going to affect gas prices in the northeast. It's not going to affect transportation of fuel on the East Coast, so we do not expect to see the storm affect gas prices in the northeast," Goodman told Seacoast Current.

President Joe Biden warned oil companies not to use Ian as a reason to raise prices.

"I also want to say again to the oil and gas executives: Do not — do not — do not use this storm as an excuse to raise gasoline prices or gouge the American public," Biden said Thursday during a FEMA briefing.

The law of supply and demand, however, led to increases in Florida, as many gas stations are without electricity. But the downward trend continued in northern New England.

Gas Keeps Going Down, AAA Says

AAA's survey of prices did see the average price go up a penny from $3.78 to $3.79 per gallon Friday, and 11 cents in the past week. The average price in New Hampshire dropped two cents Friday from $3.43 to $3.41, with the lowest prices in the state in Rockingham and Merrimack counties.

Prices in Maine dropped from $3.55 to $3.54 per gallon on average.

Goodman said the price of crude oil is plummeting again, which will keep prices down.

"There's renewed worries over the lower demand for fuel and a possible global recession," Goodman said, but he could not speculate how low prices will go.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH