An early winter storm brought heavy snowfall throughout much of the Chicago area Sunday night and early Monday, leaving behind patches of ice, and causing crashes and delays in and northwest Indiana that could continue to be an issue for the morning commute.

While trucks were still out salting roads Monday night, with lows dropping into the 20s overnight, there might still be areas of black ice, especially on overpasses.

Icy conditions caused a traffic nightmare on Interstate 65, which still had major backups Monday night. Indiana State Police said they have not seen a backup like this in years.

It was a long day for Ryan Stroh. After work, he had to plow his dad's driveway in Schererville, a task he had no plans to do on Sunday.

"Woke up, and it was way more than I was expecting," he said.

Many were met with near whiteout conditions all around northwest Indiana, causing a miles-long back up along I-65 near Merrillville.

Indiana State Police said they had to close the interstate in certain areas because semi-trucks could not get up hills due to ice packed on the road.

ISP Sgt. Glen Fifield said no one believed it would be this bad until a second round of snow came late Monday morning.

"When that hit, everything that melted froze again and it was worse the second time than it was the first time," he said.

Indiana State Police said they got nearly 200 calls for service in northwest Indiana on Monday, more than 50 of them for crashes. Many drivers were unprepared for the weather.

"There was one lady here that we could not get to. We finally got help to her, and she wouldn't leave her car, and she's been stranded out there for about six hours," Fifield said.

With Tuesday morning lows in the 20's, his concern was more accidents might be coming.

"I'm worried about these bridge decks freezing again, and people are going highway speeds as traffic clears out, and hitting those bridges and crashing," he said.

As for Stroh, he said he plans to hit the back roads Tuesday morning heading work, in an effort to avoid traffic and the icy conditions.

"Every year, 'Why do we live here?' But it's always going to be home," he said.