The first full week of the historically quiet shoulder season was full of fireworks for cash and futures markets alike. Record-breaking heat on the West Coast and a late-season snowstorm on the East Coast drove up spot market demand during the April 4-8 trading period, while growing concerns about supply ahead of next winter lifted futures above $6.500/MMBtu.

Led by the West Coast, spot price gains were stout across the country. NGI’s Weekly Spot Gas National Avg. surged 57.0 cents to $5.855.

AccuWeather noted that the United States is a “large country boasting vastly different climates,” which was made abundantly clear with some of the weather extremes recorded this week. Snow fell and low temperatures records were broken in one half of the country, while high...