WASHINGTON -- The average retail price of diesel fuel in the U.S. rose a record 30.8 cents, to an all-time high of $2.90 a gallon, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, while gasoline soared 45.9 cents a gallon to about $3.07, the first time the national average had topped $3.

The price run-up, which was reported by the U.S. Department of Energy, reflected the hurricane-caused damage to the refining infrastructure along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The storm destroyed offshore drilling rigs and pipelines in the region, which produces one-third of the oil and a fifth of the natural gas in the U.S., and damaged or shutdown a number of refineries in the region.

Even before Katrina, diesel fuel had been climbing weekly for a month, breaking records for the motorcoach industry's main fuel. Diesel is roughly $1.03 a gallon higher than it was a year ago.

That increase adds $206 to the cost of an operator filling a 200-gallon tank on a motorcoach.

Gasoline was $1.22 cents above the price following Labor Day last year.

At one point during the price surge, oil surpassed a record $70 a barrel but eased back by $5 a barrel a week after the hurricane.

Average diesel prices rose sharply in all five regions of the U.S. tracked by the Energy Department. The East Coast led with a 33.6-cent per gallon gain to $2.90, with the Gulf Coast not far behind, rising 32.5 cents to $2.83 a gallon.

In the Midwest, the price jumped 31.1 cents a gallon to $2.84 and the price in the Rocky Mountain region rose 25 cents to $2.98.

The West Coast remained the highest national average, spiking 22.9 cents to $3.15 a gallon, while the California sub-region rose 20.5 cents to $3.25 a gallon.

Each week DOE surveys 350 service stations to compile a national retail price picture.

To help ease shortages in the wake of Katrina, the federal government began tapping its emergency supplies. U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said the Strategic Petroleum Reserve could deliver 5 million barrels of oil a day, more than three times the amount lost in the Gulf.

The American Bus Association quoted Lancer Insurance Co. and fuel industry sources as saying there will be acute diesel fuel shortages in the weeks ahead, with some sources predicting the shortage will last for months.

"While the price is an issue, it's predicted the availability of fuel will be the more pressing issue," said the ABA.

"Despite the administration's decision to release oil from federal reserves, it may only put a small dent in the shortfall caused by the damage to the Gulf Coast's oil industry infrastructure," the ABA added.

Then the association made a questionable recommendation "that operators top off the tanks in all your units as soon as possible."

Most oil industry experts strongly discourage the practice of "topping off" because they say it creates or exacerbates shortages.