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A solar eclipse. Summer travel. Here's why gas prices will rise in NJ this month

3-minute read.

A solar eclipse. Summer travel. More expensive blends of gas for the warm weather. 

These can all jack gas prices up over the next month, according to analysts.

Right now, New Jersey’s gas prices are 30 cents less than the national average, according to travel club AAA. 

Expect that to change in just a few weeks, analysts say, as the Northeast region switches from the cheaper winter blends of gasoline to the more expensive summer blends. 

That increase, set to take place through roughly April 15, means a “disappointing next couple of weeks,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.com.  

“The price that wholesalers and fuel distributors will pay when they load up their gas trucks or deliver fuel to retail gas stations, basically overnight they’re going to pay about 30 cents more a gallon,” added Mark Schieldrop, senior spokesperson for AAA Northeast.

Even sooner is the solar eclipse on Monday, which might drive up demand as drivers in the Northeast try to find the best viewing spot, Schieldrop said. That spike could barrel into the switch towards the more expensive summer blend. 

As of Thursday, the New Jersey average price was $3.25 a gallon, compared to the national average of $3.56 a gallon, according to AAA , and a state average of $3.15 a month ago. 

Granted, that’s less than the $5.05 a gallon state average New Jersey saw in June 2022, when inflation hit a 40-year high. 

While rare, some gas stations were still selling at under $3 a gallon, according to data from GasBuddy. That includes U.S Gas at 6 U.S. 46 in Fairfield and Conoco at 3440 U.S 46 West in Parsippany, as of Wednesday. 

“So enjoy these prices,” De Haan said. But he doubted prices could top $4 a gallon in the near future. 

Schieldrop said that crummy weather combined with lower demand in the Northeast kept gas prices low. Other factors such as the switch to electric vehicles and newer, more fuel-efficient vehicles have kept down the demand for gasoline, he said. 

When could it spike?

Schieldrop said the spike to as much as $4 a gallon or more could happen close to Memorial Day weekend or the month afterward, as people gear up to hit the road. 

Why the delayed price increase?

The Northeast is the last region in the continental United States to feel the spring weather, and that means they’re later to switch from the winter to summer blend, De Haan said. 

The difference between the winter and summer blends comes down to the fuel’s Reid vapor pressure, which determines how easily the gas can evaporate at a given temperature. 

In the winter, the gasoline used has a higher RVP, meaning it evaporates easier and enables the car to start in colder weather, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores . 

Summer gas is the opposite, the NACS said, and it’s more expensive because production takes longer and the yield per barrel of oil is lower. 

What else is at play?

De Haan, from GasBuddy.com, said that production cuts by OPEC, an association of oil-producing countries, could squeeze oil prices higher. 

As of Thursday morning, West Texas Intermediate crude oil was trading at $85.35 a barrel, according to MarketWatch . Brent crude oil was trading at $89.29 a barrel . 

But Brent crude oil was $10 less at the start of the year, MarketWatch data shows. 

“These cuts are slowly inflicting more pain,” De Haan said. 

But if these production cuts continue and deepen, and oil trades at above $95 a barrel, then De Haan warned that gas could reach into the $4 a gallon territory. 

A higher gas tax

In March. Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill increasing the gas tax by 2 cents per year for five years to finance transportation infrastructure projects across the state. The first hike is expected to hit on Jan. 1 next year. 

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record. 

Email:  [email protected] ; Twitter: @danielmunoz100

Watch CBS News

Earthquake maps show where seismic activity shook the Northeast today

By Lucia Suarez Sang

April 5, 2024 / 12:15 PM EDT / CBS News

Residents across the Northeast were rattled by a  4.8 magnitude earthquake that shook  the densely populated New York City metropolitan area and much of the surrounding region on Friday morning. The U.S. Geological Survey was quick to release maps showing the spot where the quake was centered, in New Jersey, and the area where it was felt.

The USGS reported the quake occurred about 7 miles north of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. It indicated that the quake might have been felt by more than 42 million people.

People in Baltimore , Philadelphia , New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston and other areas of the Northeast reported shaking. Tremors lasting for several seconds were felt over 200 miles away near the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border.

The map below shows the seismic intensity of the earthquake. The map, which is mostly a lighter shade of blue, shows that the intensity was light to weak, depending on the distance from the epicenter. 

Another map released by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre on X, formerly Twitter, highlights the eyewitness reports of shaking and possible damage levels during the seismic event. 

#Earthquake 18 mi W of #Plainfield (New Jersey) 23 min ago (local time 10:23:20). Updated map - Colored dots represent local shaking & damage level reported by eyewitnesses. Share your experience via: 📱 https://t.co/IbUfG7TFOL 🌐 https://t.co/wErQf69jIn pic.twitter.com/jBjVw1ngAD — EMSC (@LastQuake) April 5, 2024

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have been briefed on the quake. 

"We're taking this extremely seriously and here's why: There's always the possibility of aftershocks. We have not felt a magnitude of this earthquake since about 2011," Hochul said. 

People across the region were startled by the rumbling of the quake. One New York City resident told CBS New York's Elijah Westbrook, "I was laying in my bed, and my whole apartment building started shaking. I started freaking out," 

It's not the first time the East Coast and New York City have been hit by an earthquake. 

A 5.0 quake was measured in New York City in 1884. 

The shaking stirred memories of the Aug. 23, 2011, earthquake that jolted tens of millions of people from Georgia to Canada. Registering magnitude 5.8, it was the strongest quake to hit the East Coast since World War II. The epicenter was in Virginia.

That earthquake left cracks in the Washington Monument, spurred the evacuation of the White House and Capitol and rattled New Yorkers three weeks before the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

• New England
• Connecticut
• Earthquakes
• United States Geological Survey
• Philadelphia

More from CBS News

How are earthquakes measured? How today's event stacks up to past quakes

What causes earthquakes? The science behind why they happen

Earthquake snarls air and train travel in the New York City area

NYC, New Jersey earthquake witnesses share first-hand accounts

Total solar eclipse April 8, 2024 facts: Path, time and the best places to view

In the U.S., 31 million people already live inside the path of totality.

Scroll down to see the list of U.S. cities where the April 8 total solar eclipse will be visible, the duration of the eclipse in those locations and what time totality will begin, according to GreatAmericanEclipse.com .

"Eclipse Across America," will air live Monday, April 8, beginning at 2 p.m. ET on ABC, ABC News Live, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Disney+ and Hulu as well as network social media platforms.

On April 8, 2024, a historic total solar eclipse will cast a shadow over parts of the United States, prompting a mass travel event to the path of totality -- from Texas to Maine and several states and cities in between.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the Earth and, for a short time, completely blocks the face of the sun, according to NASA .

The track of the moon's shadow across Earth's surface is called the path of totality, and to witness the April 8 total solar eclipse, viewers must be within the 115-mile-wide path. To discover when to see the solar eclipse in totality or the partial eclipse in locations across the U.S. outside of the path, check out NASA's Eclipse Explorer tool .

Eclipse travel

In the U.S., 31 million people already live inside the path of totality, bringing the celestial phenomenon to their doorsteps, Michael Zeiler, expert solar eclipse cartographer at GreatAmericanEclipse.com told ABC News.

MORE: Eclipse glasses: What to know to keep your eyes safe

But for individuals outside of the path, investing time and money are needed to experience the event in totality.

Eclipse chasers, or umbraphiles, are individuals who will do almost anything, and travel almost anywhere, to see totality, according to the American Astronomical Society .

"There's a very active community of solar eclipse chasers and we will go to any reasonable lengths to see solar eclipses anywhere in the world," Zeiler said. "All of us are united in pursuing the unimaginable beauty of a total solar eclipse."

MORE: The surprising reason why a Texas county issued a disaster declaration ahead of April total solar eclipse

Bringing together both eclipse experts and novice sky watchers, the total solar eclipse on April 8 is projected to be the U.S.'s largest mass travel event in 2024, according to Zeiler, who likened it to "50 simultaneous Super Bowls across the nation."

"When you look at the number of people expected to come to the path of totality for the solar eclipse, we estimate those numbers are roughly the equivalent of 50 simultaneous Super Bowls across the nation, from Texas to Maine," he said.

Eclipse map, path of totality

In the U.S., the path of totality begins in Texas and will travel through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan will also experience the total solar eclipse, according to NASA.

Best times, places to view eclipse

Below is a list of some American cities where the April 8 total solar eclipse will be most visible -- pending weather forecasts -- the duration of the eclipse in those locations and what time totality will begin, according to GreatAmericanEclipse.com.

• Eagle Pass, Texas, 1:27 p.m. CDT: 4 minutes, 23 seconds
• Uvalde, Texas, 1:29 p.m. CDT: 4 minutes, 16 seconds
• Kerrville, Texas, 1:32 p.m. CDT: 4 minutes, 23 seconds
• Austin, Texas, 1:36 p.m. CDT: 1 minute, 53 seconds
• Killeen, Texas, 1:36 p.m. CDT: 4 minutes, 17 seconds
• Fort Worth, Texas, 1:40 p.m. CDT: 2 minutes, 34 seconds
• Dallas, Texas, 1:40 p.m. CDT: 3 minutes, 47 seconds
• Little Rock, Arkansas, 1:51 p.m. CDT: 2 minutes, 33 seconds
• Jonesboro, Arkansas, 1:55 p.m. CDT: 2 minutes, 24 seconds
• Poplar Bluff, Arkansas, 1:56 p.m. CDT: 4 minutes, 8 seconds
• Cape Girardeau, Missouri, 1:58 p.m. CDT: 4 minutes, 6 seconds
• Carbondale, Illinois, 1:59 p.m. CDT: 4 minutes, 8 seconds
• Mount Vernon, Illinois, 2:00 p.m. CDT: 3 minutes, 40 seconds
• Evansville, Indiana, 2:02 p.m. CDT: 3 minutes, 2 seconds
• Terre Haute, Indiana, 3:04 p.m. EDT: 2 minutes, 57 seconds
• Indianapolis, Indiana, 3:06 p.m. EDT: 3 minutes, 46 seconds
• Dayton, Ohio, 3:09 p.m. EDT: 2 minutes, 46 seconds
• Wapakoneta, Ohio, 3:09 p.m. EDT: 3 minutes, 55 seconds
• Toledo, Ohio, 3:12 p.m. EDT: 1 minute, 54 seconds
• Cleveland, Ohio, 3:13 p.m. EDT: 3 minutes, 50 seconds

Pennsylvania

• Erie, Pennsylvania, 3:16 p.m. EDT: 3 minutes, 43 seconds
• Buffalo, New York, 3:18 p.m. EDT: 3 minutes, 45 seconds
• Rochester, New York, 3:20 p.m. EDT: 3 minutes, 40 seconds
• Syracuse, New York, 3:23 p.m. EDT: 1 minute, 26 seconds
• Burlington, Vermont, 3:26 p.m. EDT: 3 minutes, 14 seconds
• Island Falls, Maine, 3:31 p.m. EDT: 3 minutes, 20 seconds
• Presque Island, Maine, 3:32 p.m. EDT: 2 minutes, 47 seconds

Related Stories

Why April’s total solar eclipse will be historic

• Apr 4, 10:23 AM

April total solar eclipse: Where to avoid clouds

• Apr 1, 5:02 AM

Total solar eclipse weather forecast on April 8

How to view the 2024 solar eclipse safely

• Mar 31, 6:13 AM

April 8 partial solar eclipse times and magnitudes

• Apr 4, 6:31 AM

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