Today, NORAD’s system is far more sophisticated, with a website that receives millions of page views. Volunteers for the Santa Tracker phone hotline field more than 100,000 calls from children across the globe in an average year, according to the U.S. military. Thousands had already come through Tuesday, NORAD said.

While public anxieties have loomed over the Northeast amid possible drone sightings, one sighting will soon bring holiday cheer across the country: Santa Claus.