HOUSTON — Santa Claus is making his annual trip around the globe to deliver Christmas presents to kids on all seven continents. He'll arrive in the Houston area much later tonight, so kids should be sure to be in bed by then, so the big guy doesn’t pass up their homes!
And just like in years past, NORAD – the North America Aerospace Defense Command is tracking Kris Kringle, so kids and parents will be able to see his every move on the way to Texas.
This is the 66th year NORAD has tracked Santa. You can track his progress here, where we’re taking a feed straight from NORAD. You can also call NORAD at 877-466-6723 for updates.
And if email is your thing, shoot a note over to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com. A NORAD staff member will give you Santa's last known location in a return email.
Why does NORAD track Santa Claus?
The Santa Tracker program started in 1955, when a local Sears store in Colorado Springs printed a newspaper ad that invited kids to call a certain phone number to talk to Santa. The number was misprinted, and the calls ended up going to the Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD's predecessor.
The colonel on duty that night realized the mistake. He ordered his officers and his troops to start tracking Santa using our systems and telling the kids where Santa was throughout the night.
"While the tradition of tracking Santa began purely by accident, NORAD continues to track Santa," according to the website. "We're the only organization that has the technology, the qualifications, and the people to do it. And, we love it! NORAD is honored to be Santa's official tracker!"
As the official tracker, NORAD has the scoop on Santa. For instance, their intelligence indicates Santa is at least 16 centuries old, is about 5-foot-7 and weighs about 260 pounds (before cookies), according to the FAQS.
And the sleigh is 74 cc (candy canes) long and carries about 60,000 tons of gifts at takeoff.
As for the age-old question, "Is there a Santa Claus?" this is what NORAD has to say: "Mountains of historical data and NORAD tracking information leads us to believe that Santa Claus is alive and well in the hearts of people throughout the world."
