ST. LOUIS - Worries about gas prices and availability have risen since Hurricane Ima struck the Louisiana coast this past week. Ida, which came onshore as a major hurricane on Sunday, impacted gas and oil production in the Gulf Coast. But, as of now, AAA anticipates operations could resume for many of those facilities in the coming weeks. Refineries are conducting initial infrastructure inspections to assess a timeline for safely resuming operations.

Ida was a Category 4 hurricane at landfall with wind speeds of 150 mph, while Katrina, back in 2005, was a Category 3. Nearly 2,000 people were killed during Hurricane Katrina, and the area it hit sustained $125 billion in damage. The damage of Ida is still being assessed. The death toll of Hurricane Ida rose to six on Wednesday after two electrical workers in Alabama died while repairing power grid damage caused by the storm.

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A quick survey of gas prices locally found these results for regular gasoline: Quik Trip, Godfrey $2.88 a gallon within the last hour on Thursday, September 2; $3.06 at the Phillips 66 in Edwardsville; $3.06 at the Quik Trip in Edwardsville; $3.15 at the Shell on Broadway in Alton; $3.19 at the Casey's on Broadway.

As of today, the average price of regular gasoline in area counties is as follows: Madison, $3.199; Greene, $3.288; Macoupin, $3.288; Jersey, $3.349; and Calhoun, $3.399.

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In addition, the Colonial Pipeline announced Tuesday morning that operations have returned to normal after shutting down over the weekend. The pipeline restart should help minimize additional price jumps.

“Ida’s impact at the pump will be felt for many drivers as we head into the final stretch of the summer driving season this Labor Day holiday weekend,” said AAA spokesperson Nick Chabarria. “However, the pump price increases caused by the large hurricane should only be temporary.”

The statewide gas price average in Illinois is $3.380, AAA reports. Missouri is $2.86 for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel, according to the AAA Missouri Weekend Gas Watch. That price is three cents more compared to this day last week and is 92 cents more per gallon compared to this day last year. Of the major metropolitan areas surveyed in Missouri, drivers in Springfield are paying the most on average at $2.90. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.18, which is four cents more compared to this day last week and 95 cents more than the price per gallon at this same time last year, according to AAA Gas Prices.

Drivers in Missouri are paying some of the cheapest gas prices in the U.S., ranking 6th lowest in the country, according to gasprices.aaa.com.

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