When will gas prices come down?

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The remnants of Hurricane Isaac won't hit the Wabash Valley until this weekend, but the economic effects are already in your gas tank. Which begs the question: how long will Hoosiers continue to pay astronomical gas prices?

It's a problem we've seen before, hurricanes reaching the Gulf of Mexico and the gas you pay for at the pump skyrocketing.

So we set out today to find out what causes the problem and when will you see a solution. We sat down with Rose Hulman economist Dale Bremmer, who told us the storm forced many oil rigs and refineries to shut down; and if that wasn't bad enough.

"They also turned off a major pipeline to the mid west and that's why we saw the quick rise in price as the hurricane was nearing the Gulf,” Bremmer said.

If it all sounds familiar, it is. We've seen this before and most times when hurricanes enter the Gulf of Mexico.

"A lot of our wells and production occur along the gulf,” Bremmer explained.

“The Gulf will be prone to hurricane activity. During hurricane season we should always be aware that there might be some short run supply disruptions and short run price increases."

Bremmer said that doesn't make the forty to fifty cent spike any easier for consumers to stomach. But, relief could be just around the corner.

"It looks like thankfully this was a relatively mild hurricane. Very few loss of life, very little destruction, very little flooding,” he explained. “You should see gas prices come down relatively rapidly."

Bremmer also said the hurricane gas spike timed up for the perfect storm with Labor Day. He says look for prices to dip after the holiday.