Northwest Indiana could see a half-foot of snow in a matter of hours Tuesday as a Winter Weather Advisory takes effect in several counties.
Porter and Lake Counties are under a Winter Weather Advisory, which began at 9 a.m. CT and continues through Tuesday evening.
In both counties, the Winter Weather Advisory continues through the evening, ending at 9 p.m. for Lake and at midnight for Porter. In LaPorte, the advisory begins at 3 p.m. and continues until 6 a.m. Wednesday.
The advisories warn of snow accumulations of up to 6 inches in Porter, with snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour possible. In Lake and LaPorte, up to 5 inches of snow is possible.
The heaviest snow is expected to fall late Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Slick roadways already caused problems for drivers during the morning rush hour, with a jackknifed semi blocking multiple lanes of westbound I-94 near IN-49 in Chesterton.
Here come a laundry list of crashes...
— Jen DeSalvo (@trafficjamjen) January 15, 2018
Jane Addams Tollway OB near Higgins Rd - left lane blocked, police
Edens OB at Old Orchard Rd - crash on the shoulder, police & fire on scene - pole down in the road
Stevenson OB Past 53 - 1 lane blocked, police & fire on scene@nbcchicago
The accident sparked extensive delays, but was cleared just after 10 a.m.
Across the Chicago area snow blanketed roadways and area streets.
Both Lake and Cook counties in Illinois were also under a Winter Weather Advisory Tuesday morning.
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In Illinois, the advisory continued until noon, warning of up to 2 inches of snow possible.
The latest weather alerts follow several hours of snowfall across the area Sunday night and into Monday. That system brought anywhere from 2 to 5 inches of snow to some counties by Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Local
Snow is expected to taper in most locations by early afternoon before continuing east into northwest Indiana.
Highs are set to sit in the low- to mid-20s but wind chill readings will likely dip between -10 and -20 degrees during the morning hours, rising into the single digits by the afternoon.
Light snow or flurries are possible Tuesday evening, though no accumulation is expected.
Wednesday brings a partly sunny day with colder conditions as highs drop into the upper-teens.