Will snow impact Island's schools reopening? 

Decision to be made by 7am on Monday

Government says it will make a decision about whether or not schools will open as planned after the Christmas break by 7am on Monday morning (6 January).

It's as an amber weather warning is set to come into force this evening at 11pm for snow.

That alert will remain in place through Sunday (5 January), until 3am on Monday morning (6 January).

Stuart Davison at Ronaldsway Met Office says: "A frontal zone arriving Saturday night and overnight into Sunday will bring the risk of significant amounts of snow mainly above 500ft throughout much of Sunday. 

"The accumulations of snow expected are most likely to be between 5-15cm, with a risk of 15-30cm above 800ft. 

"Accompanied by strong east or northeast winds this will bring a risk of drifting snow and blizzards as well as a risk of overhead power line icing. 

"Lower coastal areas exposed to the wind are likely to see rain and sleet, but lower areas in the west it is likely to fall as sleet or snow."

The Adverse Weather Group – made up of staff from emergency planning, Ronaldsway Met Office, emergency services, schools, highways and healthcare – says it will ‘continue to monitor the situation and meet throughout the weekend' with 'updates provided as necessary'.

It is also reminding residents to 'use salt bins to grit local driveways and paths where necessary'.

Meanwhile, the Department of Infrastructure says Highway Services can be contacted by telephone 24hrs 365 days of the year if required.

During normal office hours, its customer services team can be contacted on 850000, and outside of normal office hours it has a duty officer who can be reached on 672000.