The Santa Tracker is back for Christmas 2021

 The North American Aerospace Defense Command is celebrating the 66th Anniversary of tracking Santa’s yuletide journey around the globe! Rowan County Weather is proud to partner with NORAD once again to track Santa as he makes his way around the world and to right here in Rowan County!The NORAD Tracks Santa website, www.noradsanta.org, launching Decemeber 1, features Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, games, movie theater, holiday music, webstore, and more. The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese.

Tracking Santa has been a tradition since 1955 when a local newspaper advertisement informed children they could call Santa directly – only the contact number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the crew commander on duty, U.S. Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center, the predecessor to NORAD. Col. Shoup was quick to realize a mistake had been made, and assured the child he was Santa. Shoup then assigned a duty officer to continue answering calls. Thus, a holiday tradition was born, which NORAD has carried on since it was created in 1958. Each year since, NORAD has reported Santa’s location on December 24 to millions of children and families around the world.
NORAD Tracks Santa is truly a global experience, delighting generations of families everywhere. This is due, in large part, to the efforts and services of numerous program contributors.

Be sure to follow along on the Rowan County Weather website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages throughout the day on Christmas eve to see the latest updates on where Santa is as he makes his yearly journey around the world!