DENVER -- It hasn’t happened in a while, but once again gas prices are starting to creep upward in Denver.

The proof is in the numbers.

Last year at this time, you were paying $1.79 a gallon. The current average is at $2.60 per gallon. That’s a difference of over $12 every time you put 15 gallons of gas in your car. You could call Dale Martinez a market expert.

"They're getting up there again," said Martinez, a driver education teacher.

This price surge is seasonal, as companies slowly switch from winter grade fuel to summer grade.

So far, the supply is strong and Americans are still being frugal.

For those two reasons, prices shouldn't creep much above $3 all summer.

But if bad weather hits, that could all change.

"That tends to be what puts the hitch in it, when we get those hurricanes coming into the Gulf of Mexico. And even though most of Colorado's supplies come from the north, that still has an impact on us,” said Wave Dreher, director of Communications, AAA Colorado.

If you live in Denver, you may see an advantage. Statewide, prices tend to be higher because there’s less choice in rural areas and off of the interstate.