CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Chances are if you filled up your car ahead of the upcoming heavy rain due to Tropical Storm Alberto, you may have noticed a big spike in gas prices.
Corpus Christi gas prices rose to $3.174 on Wednesday. That's up 15.8 cents from the prices just one week ago when they were $3.016. Statewide, the gas prices remained relatively flat. They were $3.038 Wednesday, up less than two cents from $3.018 a week ago.
Texas House of Representative for District 32 Rep. Todd Hunter said that tropical developments are unique in how they impact areas in or near their path, but that this is not price gouging.
"Tornado pops up, or hail storm pops up, or a fire, you don't have any notice, but on storms and hurricanes you got notice," Hunter said.
3NEWS spoke with a Corpus Christi resident who wished to remain anonymous. He said that he was filling up his work truck to be on the safe side in case anything severe happened with the weather.
"They wanted to make sure that we are all gassed up just in case we do happen to go out," he said.
Hunter said it's not uncommon to see other prices go up when weather events get close to the Coastal Bend.
"Anytime these storms come you're gonna see a high increase," he said. "It's not just gasoline, it's other things you can get in the stores like batteries and flashlights."
Hunter said that if residents do see dramatic increases during severe weather threats, it's important to know that they have options.
"There is reasonableness, but the consumer needs to be protected, the taxpayer needs to be protected, they need to get a hold of the legislative offices so we can get them to report it to the state agency," he said.
For those wanting to report price gouging, there is an online form through the Texas Attorney General's Office that you can access here.