STOCK snow

File photo.

Jonathan Miano, The Times

It was a cold morning Monday, and snow later in the day could make for a long afternoon commute.

Wind chills as low as 20 degrees below zero greeted commuters headed out early Monday, marking the coldest morning since mid-January, according to the National Weather Service.

A number of schools throughout Northwest Indiana announced delays Monday as some communities dug out from Sunday's snow and air temperatures hovered at or below zero.

UPDATED: Map: Local Warming Centers

Communities in the Region may be offering warming centers due to the frigid temperatures. These locations have been used in the past as warming centers, but be sure to call ahead to verify hours. Are we missing a location? Is a listed location no longer valid? Email our editors at newstips@nwi.com.

About 8 a.m., the air temperature  and wind chill at the Porter County Regional Airport were minus 5 and minus 20, respectively, the weather service said.

The Lansing Municipal Airport recorded an air temperature of minus 3 and wind chill of minus 10. At the Gary/Chicago International Airport, the air temperature was zero and the wind chill was minus 15.

Conditions Monday were expected to significantly worsen by afternoon, with snow expected to begin in Chicago's northwest suburbs about 2 p.m. and move southeast into Chicago and Northwest Indiana by 3 p.m.

A winter weather advisory for Lake, Porter, Newton and Jasper counties was scheduled from 3 p.m. to midnight Monday. New snow accumulation of 2 to 5 inches was expected.

A similar advisory for LaPorte County was set for 5 p.m. Monday to 2 a.m. Tuesday. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches was expected.

Snowfall rates of up to 1 inch per hour were expected tonight, forecasters said.

The storm could result in dangerous travel conditions during the evening commute, including snow-covered roads, low visibility and much longer travel times.

Snow Sunday wreaked havoc on Northwest Indiana interstates. Indiana State Police said they responded Sunday afternoon to a 17-car pileup and a 13-car pileup on Interstate 80/94 in Lake County.

Many of the crashes could have been avoided if drivers had slowed down and allowed extra space between vehicles, police said.

Up to 3 inches of snow was reported in Portage and up to 2.4 inches was reported in Valparaiso following Sunday's storm, according to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. 

Check back at nwi.com for updates.