BEAUMONT, Texas — Gas prices in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area rose again Friday, according to GasBuddy.com.
Prices rose nearly 27-cents since Thursday. The average price for regular unleaded gas is currently $2.60/gal. The average on Thursday was $2.37/gal. While prices are climbing, they are still lower than the national average of $2.80/gal., GasBuddy and AAA report.
A majority of oil and gas rigs are in the path of Tropical Storm Barry. Almost 30% of those rigs have been evacuated due to the storm. Because winds with Barry are not very strong, experts expect evacuations to be minimum.
The price increase hasn't deterred southeast Texans from filling up tanks in case Barry makes a turn west. Aubrey Dixson and Ducota Bankester decided not to take their chances as they visited the pump Thursday afternoon.
"You never know when one of those things are going to turn on you," Dixson said.
Bankester agreed, "Mother nature's unpredictable, she does what she wants to do."
Dixson was born and raised in Southeast Texas. The first hurricane he remembers was Audrey in 1957. Over the years, he's learned how to prepare.
"Picking up extra gas, I'm going to do a little mowing before the storm hits, mow my yard, button everything down that might be loose," Dixson said.
