Hurricane season an unusual one for gas prices, here's why

While the nation's gas prices normally see an uptick when hurricanes pound the refinery-rich stretch of the Gulf Coast, experts say this year, that isn't the case.

"Typically, hurricanes like Laura, Sally and Delta would have impacted gas prices on a national level, but this year is not a typical one," AAA spokesperson Jeanette Casselano McGee told FOX Business Monday.

OIL PRICES CONTINUE DECLINE AS US PRODUCERS RAMP UP PRODUCTION AFTER HURRICANE DELTA

Refiners are expected to shut down until the storm passes, possibly disrupting gasoline supplies. The stronger the storm, the more concerns arise regarding refinery wreckage and a potential drop in refinery crude demand.

Unlike years past, the nation is facing a drop in gasoline demand since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic which has aided in keeping prices down for U.S. drivers.

Gasoline demand has been down "dramatically" since March and "supply plentiful," McGee said. Thus, in the wake of these harrowing storms, motorists are not seeing gas prices spike as they normally would.

Oil prices remain below $40 per barrel as of Monday and Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told FOX Business the national average continues to hover in a tight range between $2.15-$2.20 per gallon over the last few weeks.

HURRICANE DELTA ROILS OIL RIGS, SQUEEZES GASOLINE PRICES

"Refiners are operating at such reduced capacity that even if several shut down temporarily due to a hurricane, there's plenty of slack still left in the system" De Haan notes.

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Today, motorists will be able to find gas for $2.25 or less at 72% of gas stations nationwide compared to only 12% of gas stations a year ago.

By comparison, Hurricane Katrina, which hobbled the Gulf in 2005, caused about a 40-cent increase overnight,  De Haan previously noted.

FOX Business' Phil Flynn and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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