Natural Gas Wellhead prices reached then-record highs of nearly $10.00 per thousand cubic feet (mcf) in late 2000/early 2001, but fell sharply soon thereafter to around $2.50 per mcf. Cold weather in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest during the winter of 2002/2003 raised prices once again, as gas storage levels hit unusually low levels and cold weather limited Pipeline operations. The Henry Hub natural gas price is expected to average about $9.15 per mcf in 2005 and $9.00 per mcf in 2006. In September 2005, the Henry Hub natural gas spot price averaged $12.40 per mcf, as hot weather in the East and Southwest increased natural gas-fired electricity generation for cooling demand, crude Oil prices increased, and Hurricane Katrina hit.