The A18 Mountain Road will remain closed until at least midday tomorrow (Wednesday, January 8) following significant snowfall on higher ground.

While most of the island has been unaffected by the wintry showers, the Mountain Road has been shut since 10pm on Saturday evening after a blanket of snow covered the hills.

Crews from the Department of Infrastructure (DoI) and Civil Defence have been working to clear the affected area.

Snowfall across parts of the Isle of Man on Saturday disrupted travel on higher roads, prompting an amber weather warning for snow from the Ronaldsway Met Office.

The warning, which was in place until early Monday morning, highlighted risks of travel delays, road closures, and potential power outages.

The warning was downgraded to yellow on Sunday afternoon as the likelihood of snow at lower levels decreased.

However, a 24-hour weather warning for snow remained active from midday Monday to midday Tuesday, bringing further snowfall last night on the island’s higher ground.

The DoI confirmed in a statement earlier today: ‘Following further overnight snowfall on higher ground, the A18 Mountain Road, Beinn-y-Phott Road, and Tholt-y-Will Road will remain closed until at least midday tomorrow (Wednesday, January 8).

‘Yesterday (Monday), our teams cleared a significant amount of Sunday’s snowfall from the mountain route.

‘Unfortunately, significant new snowfall overnight has set this work back, and much of the route needs to be re-cleared.’

The department has three gritters and a tractor-mounted snow blower operating on the Mountain Road, with plans to move on to Beinn-y-Phott and Tholt-y-Will once conditions allow.

DoI teams were also deployed in the early hours of Tuesday to grit icy roads ahead of the morning commute.

Additional gritting took place later in the morning as needed, and roadside salt bins are being refilled across the island.

The department has urged the public to report empty salt bins to its customer services team at 850000, quoting the location and reference number.