It’s Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is suited up for his annual voyage from the North Pole to households around the world. In keeping with decades of tradition, the North American Aerospace Command, or NORAD, will once again track Santa’s journey to deliver gifts to children before Christmas 2024, using an official map that’s updated consistently to show where he is right now.
NORAD, the agency responsible for monitoring and defending airspaces over the United States and Canada, has tracked Santa’s whereabouts every year since 1958. Its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command, handled the project for three years before NORAD took over.
Here’s what to know as the tracker maps out Santa’s journey this Christmas.
Where is Santa right now?
NORAD updates its map in real time to show Santa’s current location on his flight around the world. From his starting point at the North Pole, he headed south along the Pacific rim and then across Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe, delivering more than 5 billion gifts and counting. He stopped in Antarctica, and as night fell in the Western Hemisphere, he traversed South America and the Caribbean, and then traveled north across the Atlantic to Greenland before making his way into Canada.
Monitor Santa’s progress on the live map on NORAD’s website, or follow occasional updates throughout the day on the agency’s Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube pages.
When will Santa be at your house?
Although the NORAD tracker reflects where Santa is at different points on his route around the world, so you can see how far Santa is from you, the map cannot predict when he will arrive at any given household. NORAD says its intel allows the tracker to follow Saint Nick along his Christmas journey but cannot anticipate his itinerary or where he’ll travel next once he stops at one location.
“Only Santa know his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house,” NORAD writes on its website. “We do, however, know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep!”
According to the experts at NORAD, Santa typically arrives at individual homes between 9 p.m. and midnight on Christmas Eve.
How does the Santa tracker work?
The tracker relies on radar technology and satellites to keep tabs on Santa, according to NORAD, which notes those methods are the same ones the agency employs to protect skies over North America. Its radar system, called the North American Warning System, includes 47 different checkpoints across northern Canada and Alaska.
“NORAD makes a point of checking the radar closely for indications of Santa Claus leaving the North Pole every holiday season,” its website explains. “The moment our radar tells us that Santa has lifted off, we begin to use the same satellites that we use in providing air warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America.”
Families can also get updates via phone from the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center — just call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to talk to a NORAD operator who can tell you Santa’s exact location. Lines are open from 6 a.m. till 2 a.m. Eastern Time on Dec. 24.
More than 1,250 uniformed personnel from the United States and Canada volunteer on Christmas Eve to answer phone calls and emails that NORAD receives while its Santa tracker is live. Civilians from the U.S. Department of Defense help too — and some years, the president and first lady have joined in to answer some calls.
What else is there to know about the Santa tracker?
NORAD says Santa Claus typically begins his Christmas journey at the International Date Line, located in the Pacific Ocean, and proceeds to travel westward around the globe. That means, historically, he begins by visiting areas in the South Pacific before moving on to New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Central America and South America, in that order.
“Keep in mind, Santa’s route can be affected by the weather, so it’s really unpredictable,” NORAD says, adding that it “coordinates with Santa’s Elf Launch Staff to confirm his launch time, but from that point on, Santa calls the shots.”
