Jim Fuhrman was surprised when he read the front-page headline of Thursday’s newspaper.

“Gas prices likely to spike,” the headline read in ominous letters. “Additive shortage could cause prices to surge to record highs by June.”

“I just thought, ‘Oh no, not again,’” Fuhrman said as he filled his tank late Thursday morning at U-Stop Convenience Shop, 17 and Q streets.

Fuhrman lives in Cortland, between Lincoln and Beatrice. If gas prices rise again, he may have to start making fewer out-of-town trips, he said.

Gas prices are expected to jump again this year as refineries and gas stations switch from winter- to summer-blend fuels.

The increases could start this month and push the average national price to a record $3.50 a gallon or more by June.

Nebraska’s gas prices are about 2 cents lower than the national average, said Rose  White, AAA Nebraska spokeswoman.

In July, the average price of unleaded gas in Nebraska was the highest in the nation, largely because of flooding at a refinery in Coffeyville, Kan.

“Hopefully, if there are no problems at refineries, the Midwest should stay below the national average,” White said.

Analysts are blaming this spring’s expected price spikes on a shortage of alkylate, a little-known and expensive gasoline additive.

Crude oil prices are another big factor in determining gas prices, White said. Those prices remain above $90 a barrel, which is about $35 higher than they were the same time last year.  

“If there’s not a downturn in crude oil prices, we’ll likely see new record highs this summer,” White said.

Furthermore, gas retail prices are about $0.80 to $.085 higher than the same time last year, she said.

“The average motorist is spending about $13 more than this time last year to fill a 15-gallon tank,” White said.

A couple of drivers getting gas at Fast Mart, 3293 A St., said they were no longer surprised to see prices rise.

“They’re always going up one way or another,” Jason Payne said.

But no matter how high prices may rise, Payne has little choice but to keep driving, he said.  

In addition to driving himself to work, Payne said he took a friend to work and dropped his friend’s daughter off at day care.

“For someone like me who doesn’t work a whole lot, I don’t make a whole lot of money, so the little bit that I get goes right into gas,” he said. “It doesn’t go anywhere else but gas.”

Tamika Brown said rising gas prices would not make her use her car less, either.

“Not in Lincoln, Nebraska, because you need your car to get around,” she said. “The bus is running from a certain time to a certain time, so I’d rather just drive my car.”

Brown did say she wished gas would stay at one price so she wouldn’t have to keep figuring out how much she needed to put in her tank.

“Ten dollars don’t put me on nothing but a quarter of a tank,” she said, laughing.

But Brown isn’t really frustrated, she said.

“Basically, that’s just America. It’s going to go up, it’s going to go down,” she said. “Can’t do nothing about it but get gas and keep going.”

Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindschuh@journalstar.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.