Snowfall is expected to start early Friday morning with no end in sight until around midafternoon on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

An overnight forecast from the NWS called for snow to start in the Wakefield area between 4 and 7 a.m., with wind gusts reaching as high as 31 mph. The town's snow emergency is in effect as of 7 a.m. on Friday.

Accumulation may be relatively slow in the early part of the day, but by late Friday night, as much as 18 inches of snow could be on the ground - with wind gusts possibly as high as 65 mph.

On Thursday afternoon, the NWS upgraded its alert for the Wakefield area to a blizzard warning.

Throughout the storm, Wakefield Patch will provide storm updates, public safety alerts and other news at this Storm Center Page.