Gas prices to spike around the country after Harvey

TAMPA (FOX 13) - According to GasBuddy.com, gas prices in every state will be impacted. Over the last five days, prices have risen over 12 cents per gallon here in the Bay Area.

The ripple effect of Hurricane Harvey is just beginning. AAA says gas prices could jump between 10 and 30 cents over the next week. 

"Florida gets most of its gasoline shipped across the Gulf of Mexico from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to our state," said AAA's W.D. Williams. "So a storm that lingers as this one is expected to do, over the western Gulf, could have an impact on shipping and our ability to receive fuel supplies."

As the Texas coast braces for the now Category 3 storm, refineries are shutting down operations. 14% of the country's oil production comes from those refineries housed between Houston and Corpus Christi.

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

As a Category 3 storm, Williams says Harvey could force refineries to remain offline for up to three weeks. And for some out filling up their tanks, the spike in gas is a small price to pay compared to what those on the Texas coast may be dealt.

"I'm more worried about what's going to happen in Texas because I just heard there's going to be a 12-foot storm surge which is horrible," said one customer.

GasBuddy.com says storm surge and all the rain associated with Harvey will be the largest threats to the refineries on the Texas gulf coast.