NORAD Is Tracking Santa's Journey
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (CBSMiami) – The North American Aerospace Defense Command is busy this Christmas Eve tracking Santa's yuletide journey around the world.
NORAD is an American and Canadian bi-national organization with the mission of aerospace warning, control, and maritime warning in North America. But on Christmas Eve, their mission shifts gears.
"What usually happens is we'll pick him up on radar along the northern part of Canada and Alaska," said Col. Sid Connor, Deputy Commander of the Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida's panhandle.
While NORAD can track him, his path is always unknown.
"His course that he takes is different every year, it depends on the weather a little bit, it depends on kids being asleep as well," said Connor.
And thanks to NORAD's technology, Air Force officials say they're able to track Santa so he can travel safely through the skies at night.
"We want to make sure that he's de-conflicted from anyone else so that no one gets in the way of him spreading his holiday cheer," said Senior MSgt. Martha Dunning, Superintendent of the Tyndall AFB Air Operations Center.
NORAD didn't always keep tabs on Santa's route. It all started in 1955 when a local media advertisement directed children to call Santa direct – only the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the Crew Commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center.
"Someone called in, it was actually a mistaken wrong number, thinking that they were calling Santa Claus. So that kinda started things off where they thought 'well we are in the air defense business, we might as well track Santa as well," said Connor.
The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, features Santa's North Pole Village, games, activities, and of course, Santa's flight.
The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese.
Official NORAD Tracks Santa apps are also available in the Windows, Apple and Google Play stores plus Official NORAD Tracks Santa has its own Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube pages.
NORAD's "Santa Cams" are streaming videos as Santa makes his way over various locations.
Up-to-date reports on Santa's location are also available via phone or text at 1-877-HiNORAD.