Tracking Santa Claus: When Is He Coming To Western Pennsylvania?

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - For decades, NORAD has been tracking Santa's journey across the globe, especially here in North America.

Since 1955, a happy accident began the tradition of NORAD's Santa Tracker.

"While the tradition of tracking Santa began purely by accident, NORAD continues to track Santa. We're the only organization that has the technology, the qualifications, and the people to do it," NORAD says.

Each year, according to NORAD, Santa arrives between 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24, but only if the kids are nestled in their beds.

Fear not, though, if the children are still awake, he comes back!

But wait...how can one man deliver presents across the globe in just 24 hours?

"NORAD intelligence reports indicate that Santa does not experience time the way we do," the agency explains. "His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa, it might last days, weeks, or even months. Santa would not want to rush the important job of delivering presents to children and spreading joy to everyone, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa somehow functions within his own time-space continuum."

Now, it's easier than ever to track when Santa Claus is going to arrive in the United States, you can do so on NORAD's online Santa Tracker at this link!