... regular is selling for $4.76 -- $1.08 above yesterday's Triangle average -- this afternoon at Crown on Raleigh's South Saunders Street. That's usually the cheapest street for gas in the Triangle.
It's worse in other parts of town: $4.89, $4.99, $5.09 ....
Was it this bad when Katrina hit the Gulf refineries?
Average Triangle prices bounced from $2.682 on Sept. 1, 2005, to $2.916 on Sept. 2 and $3.141 on Sept. 3.
The Katrina record spike was $3.184 on Sept. 4, 2005.
Remember, those were averages. Some stations charged much higher prices than that.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter, editor and blogger since 1976, he took over the
Comments
I'm betting $5
Fri, 09/12/2008 - 16:17 — Caroilne (not verified)After gas broke the $3 barrier during Katrina, we never really saw it go back down. It broke the $4 barrier, then went down to hover just beneath it -- in my book, $3.69 (the average price I've seen lately) might as well be $4. I'm betting we'll see it break the $5 barrier soon -- and I doubt we'll see $3 again. Welcome to the new reality.
I hear the 2010 Prius will be a 100 mpg plug-in hybrid -- I sure hope those rumors are true, because even filling up my 37 mpg Corolla is starting to hurt.
It's time to start rolling out mass transit and alternative energy sources. Anyone who thinks offshore drilling is going to materially reduce gas prices has another think coming. It's a very expensive Band-Aid, when what we need is real solutions.
How bad it's been, how bad it'll get
Sat, 09/13/2008 - 13:03 — BruceSiceloff (author)Caroline -
I agree that it's hard to bet against gas prices getting a lot worse, but I take heart in recalling that a lot of this year's most dire predictions have proven wrong. When prices were shooting upward in late spring there were forecasts of $5 gas by July 4 and worse by Labor Day.
Recent history is not quite as awful as we might remember, either.
After the Katrina ($3.184 on 9/4/2005) and Rita spikes in September and October 2005, Triangle prices actually fell back below $3 for about 20 months -- and much of that time, below $2.50.
Except for a day or two in the $3.02 neighborhood in July 2006, the local average did not push back above $3 until June 2007. We've paid more than $3 for most of the time since then, and more than $3 every day since early February 2008.
Typical
Fri, 09/12/2008 - 16:01 — Daniel Carter (not verified)Way to feed the fire there, Bruce. The small percent of people who weren't already going and filling every gas container they own now will be.