CHARLOTTESVILLE (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Heading into Spring Break for Charlottesville and Albemarle schools, gas prices are up because of the changeover to summer fuel blend, but it’s better than heading into Spring Break 2024. Triple-A MidAtlantic’s Morgan Dean says Virginians are paying an average 2.96-a-gallon for regular unleaded, which is 3-cents more than last week. However, it’s a penny less than a month ago and nearly 50-cents less than this time last year.

Dean says the summer gas blend which is less likely to evaporate in warm temps is more expensive which is why the price is up the past couple of weeks. However, the reason the price is down from last year is less demand and crude oil prices around $68-a-barrel where it was 83 this time in 2024.