Chicago's overnight winter parking ban went into effect early Monday morning on several major city thoroughfares.

Every year, the ban goes into effect at 3 a.m. Dec. 1, and remains in effect through April 1.

Under the ban, parking is banned between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. seven days a week on 107 miles of the city's main streets. 

When 3 a.m. struck on Monday, tow trucks were out clearing the cars parked on the affected streets.

CBS News Chicago crews were there as one woman was allowed to move her car before it was towed. But the cars parked ahead of hers were loaded onto the tow bed and hauled away.

Drivers also prepared ahead of time.

Blink, and you might miss them, but long-term residents will tell you the signs warning of the parking ban at the intersection of Division Street and Milwaukee Avenue mean something starting in the early morning hours on Dec. 1.

"You'll hear the beeping of tow trucks and the screaming of people trying to catch up to the tow trucks, saying, 'Hey, that's my heart.' Yes, we do know that's your car, and it's leaving with us," said resident David LaCour.  

LaCour was out in the snow moving his work truck Sunday night, while competing for space against the hundreds of others lining these streets.

"It's horrible because there's nowhere to really park around here, and the residences keep multiplying," he said.

City officials said they want to ensure snow plows, CTA buses, and emergency vehicles can move during inclement weather. This all came as more snow is expected to arrive in Chicago on Monday evening.

"I'm hoping it's not too bad. I hope it's like it snows and then it goes away like today," said Kamilah.  

Drivers can visit the same website or call 311 to find out if their vehicle was towed due to the ban.   

Contrary to what some have claimed on social media in the past, the ban does not affect all major Chicago streets — in fact, it does not affect many overall. But signs are posted where the ban is in effect, and drivers are nonetheless caught off guard every year. 

Some drivers said they would rather drive around looking for a safe spot to park than risk fees after having their car impounded.

"You have to jockey. You just have to look around. You have to look around for a location to park in somewhere that's not a tow zone, because they will come after you," LaCour said.    

The affected Chicago roads include parts of, though not necessarily all of, Foster Avenue, Division Street, Madison Street, Midway Plaisance, 79th Street, 103rd Street, 106th Street, Milwaukee Avenue, Archer Avenue, Central Avenue, Kedzie Avenue, State Street, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and Cottage Grove Avenue. Clark Street and Devon Avenue area, also part of the ban, but only in Rogers Park, and Cermak Road is affected for half a mile in the South Loop.

Parts of other Chicago streets are also affected. The city has released a map.

For those who get towed, getting a car back is not cheap. There is a fee of $150 and a $60 ticket, and motorists will be charged $25 for every day their cars are left in the city's auto pounds. Those cars will be taken to pound 2, at 10301 S. Doty Ave., and pound 6, at 701 N. Sacramento Ave.

Drivers can visit chicagoshovels.org or call 311 to find out if their vehicle was towed due to the ban.