This is the 69th year that NORAD has tracked the Jolly Old Elf on his global journey. Here's how to find him as he arrives in RivCo towns.
Patch Staff
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County County children can start following Santa Claus as he delivers gifts around the world on Tuesday. This is the North American Aerospace Defense Command's 69th year of tracking the Old St. Nick's worldwide Christmas Eve journey.
The tracker went live at 1 a.m. Pacific time Tuesday via www.noradsanta.org.
NORAD started tracking the jolly old elf in the predawn hours Tuesday, and will follow his journey as he passes north to south and back again, until at last he reaches Riverside County communities.
NORAD is located at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, has provided simulated tracking of Santa Claus' global mission to deliver gifts and cheer, according to the agency.
In 2022 and 2023, the tracker captured Santa and his reindeer crossing from San Diego County to Riverside County, from south to north, as well as presented the sleigh flying directly over several cities, including Temecula, Murrieta, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Banning, Beaumont, and Palm Desert.
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"The (website) features Santa's North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, movie theater, holiday music, web store and more," NORAD said. "The website is available in nine languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean."
NORAD has been providing updates regarding the upcoming flight via its social media platforms.
"On Dec. 24, trackers worldwide can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask our live operators about Santa's location from 6 a.m. to midnight mountain standard time," the agency said. "Whether you're in Alexandria, Egypt, or Alexandria, Virginia, remember that Santa typically arrives between 9 p.m. and midnight local time, and ONLY when children are asleep!"
NORAD, which is responsible for identifying and sounding alarms regarding potential airborne threats to the U.S. and Canada, inaugurated the Santa tracking tradition informally in 1955 when a child called the wrong number and connected with an aerospace command colonel asking about Santa's whereabouts. He assured the girl that the jolly man would make it through the night safely.
NORAD formalized Santa tracking in 1958, providing reports to media regarding Santa's progress making the rounds on Christmas Eve.
"Though the program began due to a misdialed number, `NORAD Tracks Santa' has flourished and is recognized as one of the Department of Defense's largest community outreach programs," according to the agency.
City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.