How could Hurricane Ida affect gas prices locally?

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- With gas prices already high going into Labor Day weekend, how could Hurricane Ida's impact on the energy industry effect your pocketbook?

Officials with companies like Ritterbusch & Associates said you could see small increases like five to six cents, but that isn’t the whole story.

While the biggest impact at the pump will be down in the regions directly impacted, there's a chance you could see some effects locally if production is down for a long time. This, all around a popular travel weekend where prices are already high.

"The increase in cost of fuel, this car has to take high grade fuel, so that's $4.15 a gallon. That's pretty pricey these days," said driver Kenneth Cook.

For many drivers, the cost of gas was already up there, but for truckers who hinge on gas prices for their jobs, it can be even more annoying.

"[I've been] slowly watching the prices go up and it's really starting to get on people's nerves, a lot of concern with the trucking industry," said trucker Jim Mills.

Officials with AAA said luckily, the impact will likely be minimal here in the region.

"Because our supply chains here in the Midwest are all pretty much fully contained within the Great Lakes region, we're not depending on gas that's coming up in any way from that region," said AAA Public Affairs Director Nick Jarmusz.

They said with gas prices already trending downwards, and Labor Day being a smaller travel weekend than most, prices will likely stay steady for now.

Jarmusz noted that could change if production is down for an extended period, however.

"So the longer that those things are offline, the greater chance that there is for some ripple effect indirectly impacting really oil prices, which then could impact gas prices," said Jarmusz.

It's something truckers said they're concerned could happen.

"So yeah, you got to figure a lot of that in, and like I said, with a storm. Worried about production shutting down is gonna get tighter and is it really gonna jack them up more?," asked Mills.

Officials with AAA said like the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, which was a major disruptor in the South, it's unlikely we'll see major changes here.