Here's how you can track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve using NORAD's radar and satellites

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Tracking Santa Claus is a big responsibility, but the team at NORAD can handle the pressure.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is tasked with defending our skies and keeping us safe every day.

"We do that through the use of satellites, airplanes (and) radars, which happen to be the exact same type of capabilities that we use to track Santa each year," said Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, the Alaskan NORAD Region Commander.

NORAD has been tracking Santa on Christmas Eve for more than 60 years. To track Santa, NORAD uses a combination of radar and satellites like we use to track snow and storms.

"As you can imagine, the call center gets really, really busy," Davis said. "But everybody who calls in will be answered. It will either have an automated message of where Santa currently is that's continuously updated (or) we'll also have about 1,000 volunteers that have helped set this up and are also manning the call center to answer the phone."

On Christmas Eve only, they can also use their Santa Cams placed all across the world. NORAD starts tracking Santa on his first practice flight on Christmas Eve and tracks him all the way until he's finished delivering presents.

"Santa typically shows up between 9 p.m. and midnight in whatever time zone that you're in," Davis said. "And he magically figures out how to do that but he only shows up when the kids are asleep. And if he shows up to a house, and the kids are still awake, he'll skip the house temporarily, and he'll come back after the kids are asleep."

Here's the link to track Santa this Christmas, or call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723). But remember, he only comes to your house once you're asleep.

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