Tagged: Travel

Tropical Storm Isaac may be far from North Carolina, but it could put a damper on Labor Day weekend travel plans in the Tar Heel state. Angela Daley is with AAA Carolinas. She says the storm has been disrupting oil production at Gulf Coast refineries.

Angela Daley says, "Gas prices had been going up all summer, but certainly in the past few days we've seen a huge spike of almost 10 cents in just a few days. So that's pretty significant, and we think a lot of last-minute travelers will choose not to travel this weekend."

The summertime travel season gets underway today. Officials at the State Department of Transportation are suspending most road works for the Memorial Day weekend. Tom Crosby works for AAA Carolinas. He says nearly a million drivers will be on North Carolina roads and highways this weekend, partly because gas prices have dropped from this time last year.

Many North Carolinians will be traveling this year for the Thanksgiving holiday. About 200 thousand people are expected to fly through Raleigh-Durham airport over the long weekend. And nearly a million and a quarter residents say they'll travel 50 miles or more from home, according to Triple-A Carolinas. Greer Beatty is a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation. She says with all that traffic people should make sure they turn off their cell phones and avoid other distractions when they're behind the wheel.