Hurricane Idalia: Florida gas contamination remains issue for drivers as storm pounds state
Over two dozen gas stations affected by fuel contamination
Florida took Hurricane Idalia's hardest hit, state is in recovery: Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez
Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez joins 'Cavuto: Coast to Coast' to give an update on weather conditions as Hurricane Idalia moves on to Georgia and the Carolinas.
Contaminated gasoline at filling stations in parts of Florida continues to be an issue for drivers in the state after Hurricane Idalia’s landfall as a Category 3 storm.
Officials said that gas purchased after 10 a.m. on Saturday at stations supplied by Citgo from the Port of Tampa has a strong likelihood of being contaminated with diesel fuel. They cited human error as the reason behind the accidental mixing of fuels that has affected more than two dozen gas stations in the state.
"There couldn't be a worse time to have this contamination event as thousands of drivers try to flee the area, plus for those that filled up, the potential inability to have a functional vehicle to leave the area," Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told FOX Business.
Hurricane Idalia has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers, grounded more than 800 flights and unleashed floods along Florida's coast far from where it came ashore as a Category 3 storm earlier Wednesday. (Juan Manuel Barrero Bueno/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"It's quite rare to see the level of contamination that we saw Citgo announce with diesel in the gasoline, but these incidents have happened before on a smaller scale," he added. "It will be cleaned up and unlikely to repeat any time soon."
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Idalia, which has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, has produced storm surges several feet high in some areas and brought damaging winds that reached up to 130 mph at one point, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Despite the storm, De Haan said there has been a low level of gas outages so far in Florida and virtually no impact on prices.
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"We probably won't see much change in price and will take another day or two once the storm clears Florida to potentially see outage numbers edge higher, but it seems the situation shouldn't get much worse," he said.
Makatla Ritchter, left, and her mother, Keiphra Line, wade through floodwaters after having to evacuate their home in Tarpon Springs, Florida, following Hurricane Idalia on Wednesday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday as investors eyed the effects of Idalia.
Hurricane Idalia storm surge is creeping in: Florida resident Barron Roddey
Clearwater/Lake Tarpon RV Park COO Barron Roddey says the bulk of the hurricane passed, but over six feet of storm surge is expected on 'Varney & Co.'
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