The recent rise in temperature also signifies a predicted increase in gasoline prices this May, due to seasonal effects, rising oil prices and a higher demand for gas.
According to Jacob Bournazian, an economist for the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration, gas prices have traditionally peaked in the springtime during the last three driving seasons.
"Prices will gradually come down after Labor Day and post-prices are in November," Bournazian said. "As you can see, there is a type of seasonality in the gas mark."
By May, he said, gas prices are expected to be between $2.40 and $2.50 per gallon.
According to Bournazian, in addition to the seasonal factor, the United States has seen a strong surge in crude oil prices.
"They rose to $8 a barrel in February, which has in turn pushed gas prices up about 25 cents for the month of March," Bournazian said.
The United States imports crude oil from countries such as Mexico, Canada, Venezuela and Nigeria. Alaska is part of the United States' domestic crude oil production, Bournazian said.
It is important to remember that U.S. consumers use about 16 million barrels of crude oil per day, while the nation only produces about 5.5 million barrels daily, Bournazian said.
Weather-related factors can affect oil prices. According to Bournazian, the three hurricanes the southern United States experienced last September interrupted the supply of crude oil.
"Money has been more volatile than in previous years," Bournazian added.
According to The Washington Post, Peter Hooper, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank in New York, said higher prices will slow consumer spending but will not totally wipe out the economy.
"This kind of level of gasoline prices is not going to tank the economy," he said.
John Willoughby, chairman of the Economics Department at AU, said he believes the price rise might hurt U.S. living standards but could have benefits too.
"In some sense it could hurt the economy, but on the other hand it's good to conserve energy," Willoughby said.
Dan LaGrotte, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, is unhappy with gas prices.
"I am getting annoyed with the rise in prices, but there really is not much I can do about it," LaGrotte said. "I do not use my air conditioning or heat as much instead."
LaGrotte has not gone home since the last price increase, but he said the prices here are comparable to the gas station he usually visits at home.
Jackie Hyland, a junior in the School of Communication, has found that gas prices in D.C. are higher than stations located an hour outside of the city.
"When traveling home, I try to wait until I am out of the city to fill up my tank," Hyland said. "I also need my car for my internship, and it is very expensive to keep filling up my tank. ... Gas prices are pretty ridiculous."
According to Willoughby, gas prices are not as high as during the early 1980s.
In inflation-adjusted dollars, gas remains well below the monthly average high of $3.08 a gallon reached in March 1981, according to the EIA.
