The aftermath of an avalanche following a late-season winter storm on Feb. 18, 2026.
© Utah Avalanche CenterThe aftermath of an avalanche following a late-season winter storm on Feb. 18, 2026.
Nearly two dozen avalanches were reported across Utah's mountains over the last 24 hours, and several were determined to be human-triggered.

The Utah Avalanche Center reported 18 avalanches on Wednesday, eight of which were human-triggered.

This comes after several warnings of increased avalanche dangers across the state as winter made its return with more than a foot of snow falling on Utah's mountains.

Leading up to Wednesday's storm, the Utah Avalanche Center issued an "Avalanche Watch," which was upgraded to a "Warning" the next day.

Forecasters said the heavy snow from the storm overloaded widespread fragile layers of weak, faceted snow that formed during the winter dry spell.



"This setup is well known for producing dangerous, unpredictable avalanches that can be triggered remotely and break much wider and larger than expected," UAC said in a statement.

While resorts celebrated fresh snow and "Powder Days," several resorts, including Alta, Snowbird, Park City and Brighton, announced early closures due to avalanche conditions.

Avalanche danger remains high on Thursday, according to UAC.

Skiers and others heading into Utah's mountains were advised to avoid all avalanche terrain and to stay off and out from under slopes steeper than 30 degrees.