How NORAD keeps track of Santa Claus

AccuWeather

Lt. General Thomas Carden Jr. joins AccuWeather from Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he explains how NORAD keeps track of Santa Claus during his travels every Christmas Eve.

Transcript

00:00All right, tonight is the night for the 69th year NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command,

00:09will be tracking Santa's travels across the globe overnight.

00:13And Lieutenant General Thomas Cardin, Jr. joins us now from NORAD headquarters on this big day.

00:19And, well, we appreciate you making time for us here.

00:23We wanted to ask you a few questions about the operations there with NORAD,

00:27and I understand that you monitor and protect our North American airspace.

00:31The additional mission tonight, though, is a little different.

00:34So how does it happen there at headquarters?

00:38Well, good morning and Merry Christmas from NORAD.

00:41We use a combination of our radars, satellites, and fighter jets that we use every day to protect North America.

00:48Today we just happen to have a very special aviator in the sky in Santa Claus.

00:54And, you know, how do families and children follow Santa's course?

01:00What will they see on the NORAD app and website?

01:03Can you break it down for us step by step?

01:07You know, our website, Santa, works to help improve it every year.

01:11If you go to www.noradsanta.org, you'll see where Santa was last sighted, where he's approaching next,

01:20about how long it's going to take him to get there.

01:23And you'll even get an approximate count on gifts that he's delivered to little boys and girls around the world.

01:30All right. This is pretty exciting stuff.

01:32And we wanted to know, you know, we're always dialed into the weather aspect of any story here at AccuWeather.

01:36So does extreme cold or severe weather impact Santa's trip and NORAD's work?

01:43Well, after 69 years of tracking Santa,

01:46we've noted that he has an amazing ability to navigate through even the most treacherous weather and safely arrive at his destination.

01:56And you mentioned that he's been able to navigate through treacherous weather here throughout history.

02:04How has technology changed, though?

02:06Now, like, how is NORAD better able to track Santa today?

02:11Well, we work every day.

02:14You know, we're a binational command between the United States and Canada to protect North America.

02:20Our radars, our satellites, and our fighter jets are continuously upgraded to protect the people of North America.

02:27And, again, today we use that technology for our very special aviator, Santa Claus.

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