Gas prices could jump in the Richmond area tomorrow and during the weekend as Hurricane Ike threatens Gulf Coast oil refineries.

"You are going to see, immediately, a 15to 20-cent jump in gasoline," said John Zehler Jr., president of Virginia Fuels, a Mechanicsville petroleum distributor.

Zehler and others predicted a sharp rise in prices at the pump because retailers are getting hit with higher wholesale prices as refineries in the path of the storm close.

"Everything we get here comes out of the Gulf Coast," said Dave McComas, president and chief executive officer of the Fas Mart Convenience Stores Inc. chain.

Gas prices averaged $3.51 in the Richmond area today and $3.54 in Virginia, according to a survey by the motor club AAA.

Zehler said prices this weekend may be "scattered all over," depending on when retailers replenish inventory. Just how much prices will rise, and for how long, depends on how much damage Ike does in the Gulf.

"Buckle your seat belt because it is going to be a ride," Zehler said.

-- John Reid Blackwell