(WWJ) - It's a mostly cloudy, chilly Christmas Eve across Michigan, but bad weather has never stopped the jolly man in the red suit from making sure his one big night remains on schedule -- and this year is no exception.
If fact, the Arctic temperatures gripping much of the U.S. probably feels like home for Santa Claus and his reindeer as they journey from the North Pole to deliver presents to children all over the world and now -- thanks to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) -- you can see when he is headed to your Metro Detroit neighborhood.
According to the NORAD Santa tracker, he was last seen in Port-aux-Français, the main settlement in the Kerguelen Islands located in the south Indian Ocean. He is expected in Madagascar within a few minutes, as of 1:40 p.m.
You can can keep track of where Santa is here.
According to USA Today, NORAD has been keeping tabs on St. Nick during his yearly trek since 1958. But the organization's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command, first began tracking Santa in 1955.
NORAD says it uses a combination of radar, satellites and jet fighters to follow Santa's journey and see where he might arrive next.
Although pinning down Santa's exact arrival at your home is somewhat difficult (maybe due to some magic), NORAD said he starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west, going to the South Pacific, then to Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and North and South America.
“NORAD coordinates with Santa's Elf Launch Staff to confirm his launch time, but from that point on, Santa calls the shots,” NORAD said on its website.
“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,” they added.
Santa has so far delivered over 2.5 billion presents, NORAD said.
The organization said the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center will be "fully operational" beginning at 4 a.m. MST on Christmas Eve, with roughly 750 Canadian and American military personnel and civilians volunteering to keep track of Santa's journey.
You can visit their website to check up on St. Nick, or you can call a volunteer at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado at 1-877-HI-NORAD (446-6723).