Southern Cold Snap Will Cost Us All As Gas Prices Rise

Supply of gas has been down lately as refineries were holding back due to lack of demand during the pandemic. America's refineries could not foresee the extreme cold snap that hit the Southern U.S.

According to GasBuddy.com, in the next two weeks, the national average price of gas will increase by 10 to 20 cents per gallon.  We are likely to see prices we haven't seen since 2019.  Yesterday the price here in St Cloud was at around $2.39 a gallon, so close to $2.60 a gallon quite possible in the next 2 weeks. Could be worse, the national average per gallon is $2.54.

This brutal cold snap that is affecting South Central states isn't helping the cause much.  One refinery in Kansas and eleven refineries in Texas are shut down or partially shut down due to the extreme cold temps.

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Like much of the South, things are different as far as protection from the elements. The cold and snow down there are pretty much a freak occurrence and refineries there lack the protection needed in extreme weather.

As of yesterday, almost 20% of the U.S.'s refining capacity was offline which works out to about three and a half million barrels.

One could hope things were going to be a bit better by Memorial Day weekend but GasBuddy.com is expecting the national average to be around $3.00 per gallon.

As much as some want to make this a political thing, fact is it's supply and demand, period.

We sure hope Texas and the rest of the affected areas can rebound as soon as possible. Being a former resident of Texas, something like this arctic cold snap is pretty much unimaginable for people living there.

(GasBuddy.com)