NORAD Officials Say Neither Covid nor “Bomb Cyclone” Will Slow Santa Claus

NORAD Officials Say Neither Covid nor “Bomb Cyclone” Will Slow Santa Claus

NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the U.S. military agency known for tracking Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, doesn’t expect covid or the “bomb cyclone” to slow the jolly old elf this year.

The agency this year plans to have about 1,500 volunteers working on Christmas Eve to field phone calls from children who want to know Santa’s location and delivery schedule.

Lt. General David Nahom, a NORAD official based in Anchorage, Alaska, said the pandemic has not affected Santa’s busy delivery schedule and he doesn’t expect any impact this weekend.

The freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall that’s disrupting holiday travel in the U.S. shouldn’t be a problem for a man who lives at the North Pole, Nahom said.

“I think Santa will be right at home with the Arctic weather that’s hitting into the lower 48,” Nahom said.

Rudolf, however, may be getting a good workout this year.

Final #homepubquiz trivia question of 2022.
The character of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 by Robert L May, in a booklet handed out to customers of the Montgomery Ward department store in which US city? pic.twitter.com/38YRhx9crf

— Dr Craig Barker (@DrCraig_B) December 21, 2022

Meanwhile, the bomb cyclone has adversely knocked out power to one million Americans and killed at least nine.

At least nine people have died throughout the United States, after a man was found dead Friday in Memphis, NBC News reported. Weather-related deaths also have been reported in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Missouri and Wisconsin.

More than 200 million people, or around 60% of the U.S. population, are currently under some form of weather warning or advisory.

“In addition to the very cold temperatures, high winds in the wake of the front will produce dangerous wind chill readings across nearly all of the central to eastern U.S.,” the weather service said in a bulletin.

AccuWeather meteorologists predict the storm will bring lake-effect snow and life-threatening conditions over the weekend as it pushes past the Upper Midwest.

The term “bomb cyclone” is derived from a 1940’s term, ‘bombogenesis,’ which means an exceedingly rapid drop in atmospheric pressure.

“A bomb cyclone occurs when atmospheric pressure at the center of the cyclone drops rapidly. In order to approximately qualify, the pressure needs to drop about 1 [millibar], or more, every hour over a 24-hour period,” John Moore, a public affairs specialist and meteorologist for the National Weather Service, told CBS News.

“This can happen when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters,” NOAA explains.

Millions of Americans are bracing for extreme weather this Christmas, as a "bomb cyclone" of artic air brings heavy snowfall and frigid winds across the United States. pic.twitter.com/zXHmVPz6MY

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) December 23, 2022

Personally, I am enjoying the one perk that still remains to me in California: Mid-60’s degree weather with sunshine.

…[W]hile the dangerous Arctic blast will touch more than 100 million people in nearly every state, Californians will largely be spared. (In Los Angeles, shorts may even be in order for the holiday weekend.)

That’s largely for two reasons, according to the weather service. First, the series of mountains known as the Continental Divide is blocking much of the cold air from reaching California. Second, a high-pressure ridge developing in the Pacific will warm the West Coast in the coming days.

“We are expecting a very warm weekend with above normal temperatures,” said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the weather service in Oxnard. “The coast and valleys of Southern California is more than likely going to be the warmest place across the nation this weekend.”

We talk about all the weather, including California’s, Christmas cookies, and Legal Insurrection posts during the annual Canto Talk Christmas show.

I wish our Legal Insurrection readers a Merry Christmas, with lots of warmth, light, and love.

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