Washington's Gas Prices Near Record Highs: AAA

SEATTLE — Gas prices are surging in Western Washington as the national average hovers just below $4 per gallon for the first time in more than a decade — and analysts expect it to hit $4 soon.

Most of Washington has already cleared that threshold, currently averaging $4.22 for a gallon of regular gasoline across the state. Totals are higher on the west side of the Cascades, averaging $4.44 per gallon in King County and $4.29 per gallon in Pierce County, according to AAA.

Eastern Washington counties trend closer to the national average of $3.84.

Statewide, AAA data showed Washington's gas prices jumped 11 cents between Thursday and Friday and were up 27 cents over the month. The state could break its all-time record soon, which AAA places at $4.35 per gallon reached in July 2008.

Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine has roiled the oil market, causing the global price of oil to spike and leading to higher pump prices in the United States, according to AAA. Gas prices have soared 18 cents since Wednesday and 29 cents since the invasion of Ukraine eight days ago, according to a CNN report.

The increases mark the largest price hikes since Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast in 2005, devastating the nation's oil and gas industry, according to CNN.

With prices rising at such a rapid pace, a national average of $4 a gallon will probably be reached soon, analysts say.

"This is not the end of it. We're already up another 14 cents on wholesale gas prices this morning," Tom Kloza, a global petroleum analyst, told CNN on Friday. "It's absolutely out of control.”

The price of a gallon of gas varies dramatically based on where you live. In California, the average price for a gallon of gas hit a staggering $5.07 on Friday, according to AAA, making it the first state ever to have an average price above $5 a gallon.

Meanwhile, if you live in Arkansas, a gallon of gas is only $3.45.

Gas prices are up more than $1 from this time last year, both nationally and in Washington, according to GasBuddy.com. The Evergreen State has some of the highest average prices for gas in the nation, trailing only California, Nevada and Oregon.