RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Drivers in the Triangle are filling up their gas tanks for less than $3 a gallon. The low prices are a welcome sight, but how long will they last?

When she saw $2.99 on the sign, Megan Davenport immediately turned into the Sheetz on Atlantic Avenue in Raleigh.

“I was really excited,” she said. “Gas has been so expensive along with everything else, I pulled in here so quick.”

She drives a lot and fills up the tank at least once a week.

“I have three kids so toting them around is not really an option,” she noted. “Gas is not something I can skip out on.”

It’s something almost everyone has to buy, so saving a little really adds up

Cristian Nunez drives a pickup truck, “It’s a big difference between $100 and $70 or $80, so it helps tremendously,” he said.

Economist and NC State Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Michael Walden, says it’s common for gas prices to drop in the fall, but whether prices remain low will likely depend on the situation in the Middle East.

“The worst case scenario would be that we get a war either between Israel and Iran or between us and Iran, where Israel or us take out the refineries in Iran,” he explained. “There have been some estimates already that in that scenario we could see gas prices jump by at least a dollar a gallon.”

He says even concerns about Iran’s potential involvement could affect prices at the pump.

“Just because people are worried enough about it that it kind of destabilizes the whole economic situation. Worry can move prices,” he noted.

Drivers hope they won’t see those prices jump. For now, they’ll save a little money, while they can.