Posted on by — Leave a comment

NORAD Tracking Santa Christmas Eve

[@NORADSanta] #NORAD tracks everything flying in & around North America 24/7/365, including Santa's sleigh, using their NORAD Santa Tracker website and call center.

[Illustration courtesy @NORADSanta] #NORAD tracks everything flying in & around North America 24/7/365, including Santa's sleigh, using their NORAD Santa Tracker website and call center.
[Illustration courtesy @NORADSanta] #NORAD tracks everything flying in & around North America 24/7/365, including Santa’s sleigh, using their NORAD Santa Tracker website and call center.
[CREDIT: NORAD Santa Tracker] Inside the NORAD Santa Tracking Center, where updates are provided in nine languages, including Japanese, pictured here.
[CREDIT: NORAD Santa Tracker] Inside the NORAD Santa Tracking Center, where updates are provided in nine languages, including Japanese, pictured here.
WARWICK, RI — The National Weather Service forecasts overcast skies and a slight chance of rain with a low of 40 degrees Christmas Eve in Rhode Island, where children will join millions watching for St. Nick via the military radar at the NORAD Santa tracker mission, toll-free call center and social media accounts.

According to prior reports of Santa’s schedule and flight plan, by 7 a.m., Saint Nick was likely flying near McMurdo Station in Antartica, headed toward New Zealand. Starting today, children may call 1-877-HI-NORAD for Santa’s up-to-date location. People can also follow NORAD Tracks Santa on Twitter at @noradsanta and Facebook at www.facebook.com/noradsanta.

Starting Dec. 24, website visitors can watch Santa make preparations for his flight. NORAD’s “Santa Cams” will stream videos on the website as Santa makes his way over various locations. Trackers worldwide can also speak with a live phone operator to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723); by sending an email [email protected] or by following the official NORAD Tracks Santa social media channels.
NORAD, the The North American Aerospace Command, has been helping children zero in on the Jolly Old Elf’s airborne sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, with Rudolph leading, since 1955.

The 67th NORAD Tracks Santa mission includes the website, social media channels, “Santa Cam” streaming video and a call center that will be operating around the clock starting today. More than 1,400 volunteers are expected to join NORAD at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs to help track Santa’s journey, the agency reports.

NORAD’s Tracker: A Brief History

Their tradition began in 1955 with NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), according to NORAD’s brief online history of the practice.

A Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. ad printed CONAD’s phone number as the one children should use to call Santa. The number put kids in touch with the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.”

Colonel Harry Shoup, director of operations at the time, ordered his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location,  and they continued doing so each year, even after Canada and the US created NORAD, the bi-national air defense command for North America.

Rob Borkowski
Author: Rob Borkowski

Rob has worked as reporter and editor for several publications, including The Kent County Daily Times and Coventry Courier, before working for Gatehouse in MA then moving home with Patch Media. Now he's publisher and editor of WarwickPost.com. Contact him at [email protected] with tips, press releases, advertising inquiries, and concerns.

This is a test