A powerful winter storm is expected to move through the Midwest and Great Lakes beginning late Saturday, bringing heavy snow, strong winds and potentially blizzard conditions. T-Mobile teams are closely tracking the storm and taking proactive steps to support customers, communities and first responders across the anticipated impact area.
What to Expect
The storm is expected to affect parts of South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan from late Saturday through Monday. Forecasts call for more than a foot of snow in some areas, along with wind gusts up to 40–50 mph or higher, which may create whiteout conditions, dangerous travel and possible commercial power outages.
What T-Mobile Is Doing
Our network and emergency response teams are actively preparing ahead of the storm:
- Network readiness: Crews, generators, fuel and equipment are being positioned across the region to support local teams and maintain network performance. Temporary mobile network assets including SatCOLTs (Satellite Cell on Light Trucks) and VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminals or portable satellite terminals), are also being staged as needed.
- Intelligent monitoring: AI-powered tools, including Self-Organizing Network (SON) technology, automatically monitor and adjust network performance. Our teams also use tools like Dataminr to track emerging threats, weather developments and other public information in real time.
- Operational coordination: We are coordinating with state and local emergency operations centers and federal partners including CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) to support response efforts as needed.
- Community support: Wi-Fi connectivity and device charging trucks and trailers are staged and ready to deploy when conditions allow.
Customer Preparedness Tips
As the storm approaches, customers can take a few simple steps to stay connected and prepared:
Stay connected
- Save important contacts and local emergency numbers.
- If calls are difficult, try texting. Customers with compatible devices can also sign up for T-Satellite to help stay connected if cellular service is disrupted.
- Everybody with a compatible device can sign up for the T-Mobile 911 service, which provides text-to-911 over satellite service if cellular service is disrupted.
- Enable Wireless Emergency Alerts and use Wi-Fi Calling when available.
Stay powered
- Charge phones and essential devices ahead of the storm.
- Keep portable chargers or backup batteries available if possible.
Stay safe
- Limit travel during severe winter weather when possible.
- Check on neighbors, friends and family who may need assistance.
Customers can also check the T-Mobile store locator for updates on local store hours or temporary closures due to weather conditions.
We encourage everyone in the projected path to follow local guidance and prioritize safety through the weekend. Please visit T-Mobile Emergency Response and follow T-Mobile Newsroom on X and Instagram for the latest updates.
