Gas prices dropped slowly, but steadily through the month of July and it looks like the trend will continue for the foreseeable future. With vacations and travel plans, prices typically rise in the summer, but this August has seen the lowest drop in gasoline prices since August 2010.

According to the American Automotive Association, or AAA, prices at the pump have been dropping in all parts of the U.S. Many motorists expect higher prices during the summer, especially in areas of the north that experience harsh winters. Areas where prices typically fluctuate during July and August have also seen a steady decrease in prices at the pump this year.

The recent drop in gas prices is a direct result of very favorable weather conditions in and along the Gulf Coast. A lack of major weather-related problems, like hurricanes entering the Gulf of Mexico, have allowed oil production to continue without typical storm delays. In the past, these stops in production drove prices upward and were even responsible for shortages in some urban areas.

There were other factors as well. One of those had to do with potential issues in the Middle East that worried many, but also didn’t prove disastrous for oil production. “Crude prices have dropped in reaction to Libya having sizably hiked its oil production, and because Iraq’s oil output has not been smashed by violence and turmoil there,” said Trilby Lundberg, publisher of an earlier AAA survey.

With the national average currently at $3.50 per gallon, this August might be the best time in a few years to fill up and head out on the open road for family travel.