Experts Say To Expect Heavy Travel, Slight Rise In Gas Prices Over Holiday Weekend

AAA reports that an estimated 37.2 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from their homes during the Memorial Day weekend. In Wisconsin, about 780,000 people will hit the roads.

Both numbers are up from the previous year and, according to AAA Wisconsin’s spokesman Nick Jarmusz, it’s going to be the biggest weekend for Memorial Day travel in more than 10 years.

Jarmusz also said the holiday weekend is often a predictor of how busy the summer travel season will be, and said people have been saving a lot of money on gas since the year began.

“We estimate that the average family has saved about $400 on fuel costs since the beginning of the year compared to what they paid last year, and we think a lot of folks are going to be using that extra savings to fund some sort of vacation, either this weekend for Memorial Day or possibly later in the summer,” Jarmusz said.

Jarmusz added that Wisconsin travelers this weekend will see gas prices around $2.60 per gallon, which he said is a “welcome relief” compared to averages in recent years.

Patrick DeHaan, a petroleum analyst at the website Gasbuddy, was a bit less optimistic: He put the statewide average at $2.70 and said supply hiccups and heavy demand are likely to drive prices upward this weekend.

“There’s been a couple refinery issues over the last week that has pushed up the wholesale prices of gasoline. So, we can thank these pesky refinery problems for a timely delivery on the higher gas prices that we continue to see,” he explained.

The good news for travelers, according to DeHaan, is that prices are likely to peak soon and shouldn’t go over $3 per gallon in Wisconsin this summer. He said he expects prices will tick back down by mid-June.

Currently, the lowest prices in the state are in far northeastern Wisconsin at $2.39 a gallon. Prices are highest in southeastern Wisconsin at around $2.99 per gallon.