WOODBURY- It’s all over the news, and your pockets might feel it, too. Gas prices are skyrocketing across the country due to conflict in the Middle East, and the difference is astounding.

“I think the prices are absolutely insane,” NHS junior Allie Zulpa says. “I was out of state for a few months, and I watched the price of gas go up from 2.50 to 3.50. When I came back to Connecticut, I saw the prices go up to 4.29. I paid 120 for a full tank of plain gas for my truck.”

The current national average for gas is over four dollars, which hasn’t been seen since the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022. Prices have gone up almost $2 dollars in the past two months and aren’t expected to decrease.

“I paid close to $80 for a full tank,” NHS senior Autumn Buonato says. “Gas is really unaffordable. Most of America and Connecticut aren’t really walkable, it’s not safe to bike or walk to places instead of drive most of the time.”

NHS drivers are paying exponentially more for gas prices. In some places, the price per gallon has gone up over 20 cents from last week. Shannon Belanger, an NHS math teacher who commutes from Newington, feels that the prices are hitting drivers hard.

“It was $4.17 at Shell in Woodbury, and I paid $3.99 in Middlebury for gas. It was $60 dollars for just over 15 gallons,” Belanger says. “I noticed diesel was $6.09 and I was surprised, some of my students aren’t doing many of their hobbies because of how expensive it is.”

Unfortunately, the price of gas is projected to stay high for the coming months, and even into next year. NHS biology teacher Toby Denman has some advice for student drivers navigating the cost of fuel.

“I noticed that the gas station I regularly go to was significantly higher than another gas station a mile and a half down the road,” Denman says. “A few dollars difference at first doesn’t make a big difference, but it adds up after a while. Pay attention to the prices, $3.89 and $4.24 are big differences that add up over time.”