While the weather will not change much, Troy area residents will still feel some of Hurricane Isaac’s wrath. It won’t come in the form of fallen trees and power lines but will hit citizens in the wallet.

Fuel prices throughout the area have fluctuated the past several days in preparation for the storm’s arrival. Some stations’ prices have risen as much as 20 cents, while others have stayed near the original price.

Clay Ingram, marketing manager of AAA-Alabama, said that people should expect to see a little bump in fuel prices over the next few days.

“We don’t expect to see the serious increases, like we saw after Katrina,” said Ingram. “But drivers can expect to see a small increase, maybe 20 or 30 cents for the next week or two.”

An employee Flash Market convenience store on Highway 231 South said that price of unleaded regular jumped from $3.41 at the beginning of the day to above $3.60 at one point and by 5:15 p.m. was back near the original.

Multiple factors affect the price of a gallon of gas, and Ingram said that any number of things could make an impact in what consumers pay.

“The area affected by the hurricane is full of refineries and pipelines,” Ingram said. “If any of those are damaged, the length of the price increase could be longer.”

While the full effects of Isaac won’t be known until after it the storm passes, Ingram said there are some things consumers can to do lighten the economic blow.

“The easiest thing to do is cut down on the amount you drive,” Ingram said. “Drive as little as possible, and ‘price shop.’ Reward the stations that are a little cheaper, and the others will come down to a more common number.”