244 drivers found out the hard way that Chicago's winter overnight parking ban is now in effect

CHICAGO (CBS) -- It was a rude awakening Monday for hundreds of Chicagoans who had their cars towed overnight—as enforcement of the city's winter overnight parking ban went into effect.

The ban usually goes into effect swiftly and automatically when the clock strikes 3 a.m. Dec. 1 — as cars parked on 107 miles' worth of major Chicago roadways are towed. In a gesture unheard of this year, the city did not enact the ban on Dec. 1 since Sunday was part of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend—opting to place warning flyers on cars instead.

But when early Monday morning came around, the tow trucks were ready to drag cars to the pound. The city said 244 cars were towed overnight Sunday into Monday.

One of those cars belonged to Connor Wheeler.

"I went to the gym, went to go have a workout, had my bag in my hand—and then my car was gone," said Wheeler.

Another belonged to Keileh Callahan, who recently moved to the city.

"I'm a teacher, and I had to get up, you know, super-early, and my car was towed," said Callahan.

The purpose of the ban that sent Wheeler and Callahan's cars to the city impound lot a 701 N. Sacramento Blvd. in the Humboldt Park neighborhood is to make sure snow plows, CTA buses, and emergency vehicles can move freely on the city's busiest streets should snow start falling.

"I've lived here for three months, so I had no idea," Callahan said. "I learned my lesson."

Contrary to what some have posted on social media, this 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.

The affected Chicago roads include parts of, though not necessarily all of, Foster Avenue, Division Street, Madison Street, Midway Plaisance, 79th Street, 103rd 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 a map.

Anyone parked on those streets overnight Sunday into Monday woke up to find their cars gone—taken either to the Sacramento Boulevard lot or the one at 10301 S. Doty Ave.

"Kind of a burden in my day," said Wheeler, "and now I've got to figure this out, and God knows how long this is going to take."

Friends Mohit Aggarwal and Avi Oberi both had their cars towed.

"It's been very difficult," said Aggarwal. "I've been trying to get my car since this morning."

Aggarwal and Oberi both spent money on rideshares going from lot to lot trying to find their vehicles.

"We stand in the line for about a half hour to 45 minutes, and then when we got to the counter, they said like, 'Your car isn't here—you have to go to another place,'" said Oberi.

The tow isn't cheap either. The owners of the cars that were towed were hit with a $60 ticket, a $150 towing fee, and a $25 per day storage fee.

"I got to tutor more to get the money back," Callahan said.

Let these drivers' misfortune be a reminder that the winter parking ban is enforced from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. until April 1, regardless of whether there is snow on the ground.