Here's some excruciating news to start 2023 with.

According to the Bangor Daily News, Mainers should expect gas prices to once again skyrocket this summer. Experts are already predicting prices to reach the $4 per gallon mark for the second straight year.

However, unlike 2022, prices shouldn't be reaching the $5 per gallon. I guess we can call that a win?

The Bangor Daily News lists many of the reasons for the expected jump, with the major factor being a predicted significant increase in demand. Experts told the Eastern Maine paper that the major factors surrounding the demand issue are the ongoing Russian-Ukraine War and China finally loosening its draconian restrictions due to the Covid pandemic.

According creditmonkey.com, June is the expected month that will see the highest prices. This isn't surprising, considering it's the month when school gets out and summer vacations truly ramp up. The oil refining process also negatively affects the summer pricing due to the federally mandated use of more expensive components.

While $4 a gallon is certainly higher than anyone wants to pay, the higher prices are certainly becoming the new normal here in the US. Long gone are the days of throwing a 10 spot down on the gas station counter and being able to drive to Boston and back.

However, it could be worse. As I mentioned earlier, it was just last year when we were all complaining about the $5 price tag, so at least that number is not being predicted for this coming summer. But it's still a gut punch to all of us that love to lower those windows, crank some tunes, and enjoy hitting the road for some much-needed respite.

LOOK: See how much gasoline cost the year you started driving

To find out more about how has the price of gas changed throughout the years, Stacker ran the numbers on the cost of a gallon of gasoline for each of the last 84 years. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (released in April 2020), we analyzed the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline from 1976 to 2020 along with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for unleaded regular gasoline from 1937 to 1976, including the absolute and inflation-adjusted prices for each year.

Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.

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