Yes, hurricanes impact Ohio. Does record-setting Hurricane Beryl pose a threat to region?

Hurricane Beryl, the earliest storm to become a Category 5 Hurricane in history, is approaching North America and will likely hit Mexico Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Several deaths are already attributed to the powerful, record-setting storm as of Tuesday as it made its way through the Caribbean toward Jamaica.

While storms of this magnitude can be unpredictable, most models of Beryl show it turning slightly northward to hit northern Mexico and southern Texas. There is a chance it or its remnants could twist to hit more of the continental U.S, according to Tropical Tidbits.

Some early models show the path of the storm cutting back through the southern U.S, and into parts of Ohio and on into the Atlantic Coast. This is not unprecedented. In Sept. 2008, Hurricane Ike blasted through Columbus and other parts of the Buckeye State, leaving a trail of damage.

Currently, meteorologist Steve Hrebenach with the National Weather Service in Wilmington is "not concerned" about Beryl impacting Ohio.

"There's a lot of (possibilities) of what could potentially happen to Beryl. It's very far away. So, could some remnants make its way into the Ohio Valley eventually? That's not out of the realm of possibility, but not something that is anything to be concerned about at this point," he said.

The most likely immediate impact will likely be felt at the gas pump as powerful storms in the Gulf of Mexico often impact fuel prices.

What happens if a hurricane makes it to Ohio?

Technically, Ohio has never been hit by a hurricane. By the time the storms reach the Buckeye state, they're normally considered tropical storms or remnants of a hurricane because the storm's journey over the continental U.S. weakens it significantly, Hrebenach said.

When remnants do reach Ohio, they mostly cause heavy rain and high winds, he added. Such was the case during Ike in 2008.

"(Ike) kind of tapped into some other energy as its remnants made its way north. But that was a very unusual situation," Hrebenach said. "That's not what happens with north hurricane remnants when they reach this far north and this far inland," he said.

Will Hurricane Beryl affect gas prices?

A hurricane sweeping through the Gulf Coast could cause gasoline prices to increase, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

According to one of EIA's hypothetical models, if a high-impact storm reduced oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day, gas prices could jump by as much as 27 cents.

That's more of a worst-case scenario than a likely outcome. Normally, storms only cause reductions of 20,000 to 150,000 barrels per day during peak hurricane season, which wouldn't send prices skyrocketing like the high impact scenario.