AAA: Don't worry about $3 gas

The Heathrow office of AAA said it doesn't expect motorists east of the Rocky Mountains to have to pay $3 a gallon or more for gas this spring.

The motorist organization said the nationwide price of self-serve regular gasoline is currently $2.54 a gallon, though the statewide average in California is $3.12 a gallon.

Florida currently averages $2.57 per gallon, while Jacksonville's current average for self-serve regular is $2.53.

"This wide price discrepancy is primarily due to rising demand for fuel on the West Coast, the region's limited refining capacity and strict air quality standards and its relative isolation from fuel supplies elsewhere in the nation," AAA said.

The group says prices may still increase elsewhere in the country during the next few months -- they just shouldn't reach California levels.

AAA said seasonal demand should rise as fuel inventories come under now-normal pressure from the production of cleaner-burning, warm-weather fuel.

At some point, however, prices will peak and then level off -- well shy of $3, AAA predicts.

The group also notes motorists concerned about a return of $3-a-gallon gasoline this spring should remember that two unusual and extreme events pushed the national average price to that level in 2005 and 2006:

Hurricane Katrina and the damage it did to critical energy infrastructure
Israel's invasion of Lebanon and the brief threat this posed to oil shipments from the Middle East
Self-serve premium averages almost $2.80 a gallon nationwide, up from $2.43 a month ago and nearly $2.56 a year ago.