Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - After a blizzard wreaked havoc on Buffalo and other parts of Western New York on Friday, the storm is expected to continue bringing high winds, bitter cold temperatures and lake effect snow to the region for much of Christmas Eve and into Christmas morning on Sunday.
While the conditions have grinded the region to a halt on the ground, there will be one special visitor still planning to make a visit via air in the early morning hours on Chirstmas. That's none other than Joly Ol' St. Nick himself, Santa Claus.
"Well, I've been a little apprehensive this year because of the weather, but the sleigh must get through, it must get to the children's houses, the toys must be delivered. I cannot let them down, I won't let them down," said Santa himself during a recent special visit to the Boulevard Mall.
Although there is a travel ban in place for all of Erie, Niagara, Genesee and Orleans County until further notice, perhaps extending into Sunday, essential personnel will be allowed to travel in the current conditions the regions face. This also includes Santa Claus, who Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz knows is an essential worker every Christmas.
"Santa Claus will be allowed, of course, to fly in on Christmas Eve. He's got special powers, though I think Rudolph is going to really have to put that nose up at the highest degree. This is very similar to the Christmas storm that we all know from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," said Poloncarz on Thursday.
Helping Santa navigate his way through the night time hours during his journey across the globe is the North American Aerospace Defense Command, aka NORAD. In the 67th year of assisting Santa Claus on his voyage, NORAD knows that Santa always finds a way to get to every good girl and boy, even during the most inclement weather on Christmas.
As for Santa, he's made some special preparations of his own in order for his reindeer and sleigh to make it through any weather conditions he may face.
"What a lot of people don't realize is my sled, it's pretty much weather proof, as far as for the inclement weather. It can handle it," Santa said. "It does slow me down, though. The winds, particularly if I'm going into a headwind, it's gonna slow me down a little bit. But it comes with the territory."
While Santa will even admit his apprehension with the weather this year, in particular, he will say that one of the nice perks of working in this day and age is the advancements in technology that will help him navigate the world that much better.
"I was reflecting the other day that years ago, we didn't have the technology we have today, and we couldn't, or we didn't predict it that far ahead. When you predict it that far ahead, you have more apprehension, because you have more time to think about the bad weather," Santa said.
During his special visit earlier this week, what were some of the boys and girls requesting of Santa Claus for Christmas this year?
"I'm getting a lot of requests for dinosaurs and monster trucks, but what I'm doing this year a lot is I'm surprising the children," Santa said. "I see things that are made in the toy workshop for certain children, and I tell them, 'I'm going to bring them to you and surprise you,' and they like that. They like the idea of being surprised instead of knowing what they're going to get."
Despite the inclement winter weather and the conditions that lie ahead for Saint Nicholas himself, it is hard to contain that excitement of knowing he's making this Christmas a special one for the kids in Western New York.
"I'm excited, I know they're excited, and we're gonna push this sled through," he said. "We're not going to miss one house, one child's house. That's my motto, even though the weather doesn't look good."
Starting at 4 a.m. EST on Christmas Eve, you can visit NORADSanta.org to see updates as Santa makes preparations for his flight. Then, at 6 a.m. EST, trackers worldwide can call to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723), where they will either speak with a live phone operator or hear a recorded update on Santa's progress.