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Hurricane Ike may not be bringing severe wind and rain to the area, but it's hitting the wallets of motorists just as hard.

Gasoline prices are spiking across the state as retailers anticipate the damage to Texas oil refineries Hurricane Ike is expected to inflict over the weekend.

"Everyone's expecting that the next delivery of gas is going to be very expensive. So what's happening is the retailers are now passing on that expectation to the public," said Tom Crosby, vice president of communications for AAA of the Carolinas. "But of course what they need to remember is we are still in a state of emergency in North Carolina. That means they can only pass on costs that they incur ... That's good news for people because that means that some stations will not be raising their rates in anticipation of it, they will only be raising it after they receive expensive gas."

Various stations in Jacksonville started dramatically raising their rates Friday, and motorists were lining up at stations with the lower prices to fill up their gas tanks before prices went up.

"My mom actually texted me while I was in class today and told me gas was going up to $6 a gallon tomorrow," said Liam McGrath, of Jacksonville.

McGrath filled up around 11 a.m. at the Circle K on Pine Valley Road where a gallon of regular gas was $3.69.

"I saw (a gas station) that was $3.99 so I decided to come here," he said.

Rebecca Horne's boss told her to head over to the Circle K to fill up because there wasn't a line yet.

"I hurried up because I heard it was going to be over $5 (a gallon) tomorrow," she said.

Ann Scott said she also heard gas prices were going to shoot up over $5 a gallon and was making several trips to the Circle K to fill up each of her family member's cars.

"I'm on gas duty," she said.

AAA of the Carolinas is warning consumers against panicking and rushing out to purchase gas because it will only worsen the problem, Crosby said.

"We have plenty of gas, but it's like a bank. A bank can be healthy, if everyone goes and takes their money out and makes a run on the bank, they can create a crisis and that's what we want to avoid," he said.

Several Jacksonville stations are restricting the amount of gasoline customers can purchase, and some have already run out of gas. The BP station on the corner of Henderson Drive and Western Boulevard had signs on its pumps that said, "Due to Hurricane Ike disrupting gas supply - all fuel sales will be prepaid only." The station was limiting customers to $40 worth of gas.

Crosby said while it is possible the state will see an additional increase in the cost of gasoline, only time will tell.

"I don't think that is going to happen until people know for sure the kind of damage Ike is going to cause. Anything is possible, but again, it all depends on the amount of damage inflicted," he said. "If the damage is minor, we've got plenty of supply to ride out this temporary blip."

In the meantime, AAA of the Carolinas is urging consumers not to panic and only to purchase gas if absolutely necessary.

"If you're a quarter of a tank or lower, go and fill up. If you've got more than that, have consideration, wait out Ike," Crosby said.

Attorney General Ray Cooper likewise urged motorists to remain calm.

"People are understandably frustrated that already high gas prices are rising so quickly. I urge the governor to trigger the price gouging law and we stand ready to take consumer complaints," Cooper said in a release. "I encourage gas stations to avoid panic price increases and consumers to avoid panic fill-ups."

Some consumers are already taking it one day at a time.

"Well obviously it's not good, I don't like it," said Amy Trianoski of Jacksonville. "But I guess you just gotta put gas in your tank and see what happens the next day."

Contact Jacksonville/Onslow government reporter Molly DeWitt at 910-219-8455. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment.



FEELING GOUGED?

Gov. Mike Easley has declared a state of "abnormal market disruption" and signed an order allowing the attorney general to enforce North Carolina's anti-gouging law.The N.C. Department of Justice has an online form for consumers to fill out complaints about gas gouging. The form is located at http://www.ncdoj.com