Chicago residents were probably fooled by the warm weekend and two weeks with no major snow, but it’s a long way to the end of the messy winter.

A snowstorm hit the area on Monday evening and 3 to 5 inches of snow are expected to come down during the night to northeast Illinois. Regions south of Interstate Highway 88 and in northern Indiana can receive even almost 6 inches of snow.

The area was placed by the National Weather Service under a winter storm warning which will be in effect until Tuesday afternoon. In the meantime city and state agencies called for the snow plows to keep snow and ice off the roads and highways.

According to Nathan Marsili, a meteorologist for the weather service, by 7 a.m. Tuesday the weather will calm down, but due to the wind gusts of 40 mph and low temperatures, there could be low visibility and slippery roads.

Mike Claffey, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation, said: "It could be a very messy rush hour on Tuesday. But we will have the troops out there. This winter is not letting up, but that's OK, we're ready for it. Spring is not in the air, that's for sure," Chicagotribune.com reports.

The department of transportation will have over 360 trucks out in the region.

Marsili said that the northern and western suburbs were reporting Monday night 2 to 3 inches of snow.

According to him, the snow is expected to fall more south of the city.

The snow which already fell in Chicago on Monday evening was already melting because of the warm ground temperatures.

According to Matt Smith, spokesman for the city's Department of Streets and Sanitation, over 180 trucks were prepared to counter the snow fallen in the city overnight.

He said: "We're not looking at heavy accumulation, though there is the potential for some nasty Chicago winterlike problems."