Tracking Santa: When will he be near your house on Christmas Eve?

Members of the 601st Air Operations Center will watch Santa fly around the world on Christmas Eve with their NORAD Santa tracker on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 in Panama City, Fla. (Heather Howard/News Herald via AP)

Members of the 601st Air Operations Center will watch Santa fly around the world on Christmas Eve with their NORAD Santa tracker on Friday, Dec. 23, 2016 in Panama City, Fla. (Heather Howard/News Herald via AP)

Santa Claus's trek across the world has been tracked by the North American Aerospace Defense Command for 61 Christmas Eves, and this year will be no different.

You can track him numerous ways on Dec. 24, in some cases starting at 2:01 a.m. These methods, including Twitter, OnStar and Amazon Alexa, are listed at the bottom of this article.

But, we know what you're really wondering: "When will Santa be in my neighborhood?"

So let's get down to brass tacks.

The short answer: It's complicated.

The long answer, according to my brilliant sources at NORAD: Because Santa's secret route is affected by unpredictable factors, such as weather and the number of stops, no one can know in advance exactly where and when his caravan will be in a certain town. And since he travels "faster than starlight," it's impossible for NORAD to post every single location.

However, here's what we do know, per NORAD:

·In 2016, he was seen stopped in Macon, Georgia at 10:17 p.m. and was heading north.

·He usually stops in most cities between 9 and 11 p.m. local time.

·Historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then moves up and down across the Eastern, then the Western hemispheres. (He usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west.)

·NORAD coordinates with Santa’s Elf Launch staff to confirm his launch time, but Santa calls the shots after that.

Now, here's how to track Santa through NORAD:

·Use the multilingual website.

·Download official NORAD Tracks Santa apps, available in Apple and Google Play stores

·Follow him on social media through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

·Speak with a live phone operator by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email tonoradtrackssanta@outlook.com

·OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to locate Santa. Bing and Cortana users can also find Santa's location.

·Ask for Santa’s location through the NORAD Tracks Santa skill for Amazon Alexa.

See more information here.

Finally, should you want a second option, there's also the Google Santa Tracker.