MARSHALL — Strong winds and blowing snow combined to be a hazard in southwest Minnesota on Thursday. Communities in the region reported wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. Wind and snow also cut down visibility for drivers in the Marshall area.

However, it looks like the weather will be more favorable leading up to the holidays, NWS meteorologists said Wednesday.

“We’re not going to have any more wild winds,” said meteorologist Amanda Penning, at the NWS office in Sioux Falls.

A white Christmas is not looking likely, either. “I don’t think it’s going to happen,” she said.

The Marshall area was in a high wind warning on Thursday, with strong northwesterly winds and gusts of over 50 miles per hour. Local reports on the NWS website said wind gusts reached 60 mph at the Tracy airport on Wednesday afternoon, and 61 mph at the Redwood Falls airport.

The NWS said strong winds would continue overnight Thursday, before calming down. Penning said after today, the region could have some “off and on” breezy days, but nothing as strong as Thursday’s winds. Today, parts of the region are forecast to get daytime highs of about 28 degrees, while in other areas temperatures could get into the 50s, Penning said.

By Monday, temperatures in south-central South Dakota could be in the 40s up to the 60s, Penning said. There weren’t any significant weather events in the forecast through Christmas, she said.

While the Twin Cities area was dealing with snow, wind and cold temperatures on Thursday, milder weather was also on the way, said meteorologist Ryan Dunleavy, at the NWS office in Chanhassen.

“The good news is, things look overall pretty quiet,” Dunleavy said of the forecast. While there was a potential for some freezing rain or drizzle on Friday and Saturday, conditions looked like they would be milder and a little warmer going forward.

In Marshall, milder temperatures are also coming next week. The NWS forecast temperatures getting back above 30 degrees this weekend, with a high temperature of 44 on Monday. The forecast for Christmas Day was partly sunny, with a high near 39.