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GREENSBORO — The dreaded gas pump bags are out again.

Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Ike rolled through the Gulf Coast, its effects continue to ripple across North Carolina and other parts of the country.

Just when drivers thought it was safe to gas up that 3-ton SUV again, stations started running out of gas, the telltale plastic bags wrapped around the idle pumps.

The culprit? The usual mix of supply disruptions and our impulse to hoard.

Many refineries along the Gulf Coast are still not operating or are running at a reduced capacity, said Carol Gifford, a spokeswoman for AAA Carolinas.

The good news is that many refineries are expected to resume operations soon, including three or four in the coming days. Prices also are expected to inch down, she said.

Most stations had gas Thursday. A check of 25 stations across the Triad on Thursday found four without any gas and several others without at least one grade of gas.

Gifford said that although stations refueled after the gas-buying frenzy caused them to run dry this month, they haven’t gotten their usual loads.

Combine that with panic buying once the rumor mill got cranking again, and it amounted to a recipe for shortages.

“They’re hearing about shortages, and they’re topping off their tanks, and they’re creating a run on an already short supply,” Gifford said.

But compared to some parts of the state, the Triad is rich with gas.

In western North Carolina cities such as Asheville and Hendersonville, the situation Thursday was worse than it was during Ike, Gifford said.

“They are almost totally out of gasoline,” she said.

The situation is particularly hard on independent retailers, who are having a difficult time getting supplies, Gifford said.

In the meantime, Triad drivers continued to perfect their stop-and-go technique at stations without gas, as well as the finer points of gas-line etiquette at stations with it.

Louis Burch of Greensboro, filling up at a Hess/Wilco station on West Wendover Avenue, said he’d been on a hunt for gas Thursday afternoon.

“I went to Costco, and they were out. And then I went to Sheetz, and they were out. I thought to myself, it’s been two weeks. What’s going on here?” he said.

For stations without gas, it remained a waiting game.

Fern White, an employee at the Pop Shoppe on Stanley Road, said the station had run out about noon but was expecting to get a delivery later in the afternoon.

“It’s supposed to come in anytime,” she said.

Staff writer John Newsom contributed to this story.

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jason.hardin@news-record.com