$5 a gallon?

Looks like we're being prepped for a big jump in gas prices following Rita's collision with Texas. The pattern seems to be: a giant price increase, attributed to disaster, followed by baby step decreases that are still much higher than the pre disaster rates. Now that we're comfortable with $3 a gallon, let's go for $5 and then drop back to $4.

Brace yourself.

Weather and energy experts say that as bad as Hurricane Katrina hit the nation's supply of gasoline, Hurricane Rita could be worse.

Katrina damage was focused on offshore oil platforms and ports. Now the greater risk is to oil-refinery capacity, especially if Rita slams into Houston, Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas.

"We could be looking at gasoline lines and $4 gas, maybe even $5 gas, if this thing does the worst it could do," said energy analyst Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover. "This storm is in the wrong place. And it's absolutely at the wrong time," said Beutel.

Link (CNN Money)