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Middle Tennessee drivers are beginning to feel a pinch at the pump as gas becomes a bit harder to find. The Colonial Pipeline, which supplies most of the region's gasoline, is expected to be down for the rest of the week after Monday night's deadly explosion in Alabama.
More: The latest from Colonial Pipeline on the Alabama accident and shutdown
It's all too familiar to Sarah Stein, a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt.
In September, she found herself in the same situation — driving on empty — when the Colonial Pipeline was shutdown because of a big leak.
"Last time this happened, I was on empty. And today, my empty [light] is on and my range says I have 14 miles to go," she says. "What are the chances that these two times in this short period, I would be on empty?"
On her way home, Stein stopped at one station in South Nashville that had gas but preemptively turned off its pumps ahead of any rush.
A spokesperson for fuel retailers in the state says there should be plenty of gas to go around so long as people stick to their normal fill-up patterns. However, they are working with federal authorities on contingency plans if gas supplies start running severely low.
Copyright 2016 WPLN News
