COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Drivers around the South rushed to fill their gas tanks Friday as prices skyrocketed after Gulf Coast refineries shut down in preparation for Hurricane Ike. One regional chain urged patrons to limit themselves to 10 gallons and officials in some states tried to head off a run on gas by threatening to prosecute stations that gouge consumers.

“We are encouraging motorists to exercise some restraint this weekend,” said AAA Carolinas spokeswoman Carol Gifford. “The run on gas is creating a crisis before there is a crisis.”

Some stations said gas could cost $5 a gallon by the end of the day.

“Every time there’s a hurricane this happens. They’re just doing this to rip people off,” said 19-year-old Megan Cohen, a South Carolina college student who settled for paying $4.11 a gallon after going to three stations.

As refineries closed, governors in North Carolina, Kentucky and Arkansas signed orders or made declarations allowing their attorneys general to enforce anti-gouging laws.

In South Carolina — where gas prices increased about 20 cents a gallon on average Friday — Attorney General Henry McMaster said gas stations that price gouge would face criminal prosecution. He did not set a threshold, saying each case must be investigated separately to see whether prices were raised to an “unconscionable” level.

Meanwhile, drivers searched for low prices. Emergency management officials in three western North Carolina counties said lines formed and some stations ran out of fuel Thursday after rumors of supply problems. The officials said there was no shortage.

Warren Cabe, Macon County emergency management director, said prices at one station jumped from $3.78 to $4.15 a gallon in minutes.

In South Carolina, Rosa Bailey rushed to a Shell station to fill her family’s truck with $3.79 regular after her husband called to warn her that prices might rise.

“We had a smaller car before this, and we got used to putting $10 in it and being able to drive a ways,” she said. “Not any more.”

The Pantry convenience store chain, which has about 1,600 stations in 11 southern states, asked customers at about half of them to buy only 10 gallons of gas at a time. Similar requests were made during hurricanes Rita and Katrina to slow panic buying, CEO Pete Sodini said. The chain’s stores include Kangaroo and Petro Express.

In Mount Pleasant, S.C., an Exxon station had run out of regular gas Friday morning, despite a sign limiting motorists to 10 gallons. Down the street at a Sunoco, regular gas sold for $3.71 a gallon.

John McGillicuddy, 67, visiting from Ann Arbor, Mich., said there would be enough gas to get back home, but he would likely pay more for it.

“Every time there is a storm or some little thing the world markets go crazy and it’s nothing people like me or you can have any influence on,” said McGillicuddy, a physician. “I don’t know if it’s speculators, but we’re speculators, aren’t we? We’re all worried the price is going to go up so everyone is here buying gas today.”

Exxon Mobil Corp., Valero Energy Corp., ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Co. were among the companies that stopped refinery operations on the Texas coast, primarily in the Houston area. The area accounts for about 20 percent of U.S. refining capacity.

North Carolina Republican Congressman Robin Hayes called for a federal investigation into some prices rising more than $1 per gallon in a day.

“I understand there is a substantial hurricane in a sensitive area of the country, but this dramatic spike in gas prices is breathtaking,” he said.