The average price of regular gasoline on Long Island was $2.98 per gallon on Monday, according to AAA, compared to last year’s average of $2.55.

AAA says this will be the most expensive driving season since 2014 and that gas prices are expected to surpass $3.00 nationwide well before Memorial Day.

“One of the driving forces, no pun intended, is Hurricane Harvey last year caused gas prices to rise dramatically, and we really never saw them come down,” says AAA spokesperson Alec Slatky

AAA says prices will likely continue to rise over the next few weeks because the nation’s strong economy is pushing up demand.