Gasoline prices are set to rise in the coming days as a record 60.6 million Americans are forecast to hit the road during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

On Wednesday, the national average price of gas sat at $3.51 per gallon, about $0.02 higher than a week ago and a couple of pennies lower than last year, according to AAA data.

"I expect the national retail price of gasoline to increase 5 to 10 cents per gallon over the next 7 days," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.

The analyst notes crude oil prices have risen roughly about $10 per barrel since June 4, in part due to escalating Middle East tensions. Traders are also monitoring Hurricane Beryl's trajectory, which became the earliest Category 5 storm on record.

“The weather agencies are suggesting that this is going to be a very active hurricane season," TD Cowen managing director Jason Gabelman told Yahoo Finance on Tuesday. "If [hurricanes] hit the Gulf Coast, it could disrupt that center of US refining capacity, which is about 50% of total capacity in the US."

While Hurricane Beryl is not currently a direct threat to US crude oil production, its path is now showing a northerly turn by the weekend which could impact refineries in Corpus Christi, Texas. The region houses roughly 5 refineries, which account for 4..8% of the total US refining capacity.

"Since Gulf Coast refiners are already operating at 90 to 95% of their capacity, there is no slack in the system to make up for lost production when a major hurricane shuts down a significant number of refineries for any length of time," said Lipow.

Rising seasonal demand has also helped lift crude prices to two-month highs.

On Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude oil, the US benchmark price held steady near $82.70 per barrel while Brent (BZ=F) crude, the international benchmark, hovered just above $86 per barrel.

Lipow has called for $90 Brent given increasing concerns over a broader cross-border conflict in the Middle East, which could eventually see the direct participation of oil producer Iran.

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.