NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The president of one of the major fuel distributors in middle Tennessee said 85 percent of their stores have all three grades of gas now. Panic buying is one reason to blame for the fuel frenzy, but hurricanes and Middle Tennessee's strict standards on fuel also affected the shortage.

Tri-Star president Tim Mitchell said delivering fuel over the past few days has been challenging, though things are better Wednesday.

“It would not have been a gas shortage if people would have not ran out and started buying up all the product,” said Mitchell.

Between June 1 and Sept. 15 each year, five counties in the Metro area are required to use a lower volatility type of fuel to help control emissions.

“We were approaching the end of that volatility season,” said Department of Agriculture spokesman Randy Jennings. “I understand a lot of the marketers were letting inventories run down on lower viotility material in anticipation of [the] Sept. 16 release date of high volatility material, so that could have had something to do with it.”

Gov. Phil Bredesen took advantage of a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency, allowing middle Tennessee to start using a winter blend a couple weeks earlier than normal, yet the gas supply was still being quickly depleted.

Department of Agriculture officials said the winter blend should not cause drivers any drive-ability problems. They believe that the current Tennessee weather is suitable for the fuel that is being allowed into the state.

The Department of Agriculture still has inspectors out every day sampling the types of fuel available, making sure that the correct octane is there.

If you have filled up recently and think you might have had problems with fuel quality or the accuracy of a pump, you can call the Department of Agriculture at 1-800-octane-1.