Where is Santa right now? Use the NORAD tracker to map his 2024 Christmas flight

It’s Christmas Eve, and Santa is getting dressed for its annual journey 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 trace Santa’s journey to deliver gifts to children by Christmas 2024 using an official map that is consistently updated to show where he is right now.

NORAD, the agency responsible for monitoring and defending airspace 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 you need to know as the tracker charts 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. Monitor Santa’s progress on the live map on NORAD’s websiteor follow occasional updates throughout the day on the agency’s Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube pages.

When is Santa at your house?

Although the NORAD tracker reflects where Santa is at various 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 a given household. NORAD says its information allows the tracker to follow Saint Nick on his Christmas journey, but cannot predict his itinerary or where he will travel next when he stops in one place.

“Only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house,” NORAD writes on its website. “However, we know from history that he seems to arrive only when children are asleep!”

According to the experts at NORAD, Santa Claus typically arrives at individual homes between 9pm and midnight on Christmas Eve.

How do Santa’s spurs work?

The tracker relies on radar technology and satellites to keep an eye on Santa, according to NORAD, which notes that these methods are the same the agency uses to protect the skies over North America. Its radar system, called the North American Warning System, includes 47 different control points across northern Canada and Alaska.

“NORAD makes a point of checking the radar closely for indications that Santa is leaving the North Pole each holiday season,” its website explains. “The moment our radar tells us that Santa is lifted, we start using the same satellites that we use to provide aerial warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America.”

Families can also get updates by phone from the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center – just call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to speak with a NORAD operator who can tell you Santa’s exact location. The lines are open between 6 a.m. and midnight Eastern Time on December 24.

More than 1,250 uniformed personnel from the United States and Canada volunteer on Christmas Eve to answer phone calls and emails received by NORAD while its Santa Tracker is live. Civilians from the US Department of Defense also help – and some years president and first lady have was there to answer some calls.

What else is there to know about Santa’s spurs?

NORAD says Santa Claus typically begins his Christmas journey at the International Date Line, located in the Pacific Ocean, and continues to travel west around the globe. Historically, this means that he begins by visiting areas of 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 that Santa’s route can be affected by weather, so it’s really unpredictable,” NORAD says, adding that it “coordinates with Santa’s elf launch crew to confirm his launch time, but from that point on, Santa calls the shots.”