Elf Seymour Snow Chats About the Weather
Elf Seymour Snow stopped by North Pole Chat and discussed how his Weather Department at the North Pole works with Santa on Christmas Eve. Fascinating discussion! Here is the chat transcript:
| Elf Ernest | Our chat today is with Elf Seymour Snow, head elf of the Weather Department at the North Pole. He will be interviewed today by our host, Elf Frank Myrrh of North Pole Radio News. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Hello! |
| Elf Ulan | Hello! |
| Elf Ernest | And there he is! Hi Seymour. Frank, take it away |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Thanks Ernest |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Seymour, thanks for being here. We understand you are really busy |
| Elf Seymour Snow | It’s a pleasure to be here |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Seymour, I don’t think our site visitors know much about you. They hear you on the radio every Christmas Eve, but the rest of the year not so much |
| Elf Seymour Snow | I don’t like my voice on the radio, Frank. You know that. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | I know. But you do a great job. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Thank you, you’re very kind. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Which is more important? The weather at the North Pole or the weather AWAY from the North Pole? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | That’s a great question and the answer is YES. All of it. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We watch North Pole weather every day, but the world’s weather affects Santa in so many ways. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | How many elves work in the weather department? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | A little more than 5,000 |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | REALLY?!!! Wow. Why so many? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Weather is everywhere, Frank. And Santa needs to go everywhere each Christmas |
| Elf Ulan | Wow! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We average a little more than 1,000 weather specialists in each sector. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | That’s a shocking number. I’m not being flip here – why so many? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | That’s not a flip question. We keep adding elves to track, forecast and communicate weather because weather is becoming so complicated. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | And Santa’s flight is becoming more complicated, too |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Flight Command is charged with helping Santa get around the world safely and weather forecasting is part of that in a big way. We’re one of those departments most people just don’t think about |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | That’s a good start to this conversation, Seymour. Tell us how it works. How does your department interface with Flight Command? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We are quiet participants in the flight planning process. We hear their ideas and their plans and their worries. I list them all in those meetings and talk to our specialists in each sector about what the flight guys are thinking |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Do you have elves from weather working in the Regional Tracking centers? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We do and we are part of the reason why those centers get up and running so early. We like to have weather elves in each sector to be close to the weather they have to forecast, track and report |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | How does the work they do affect flight plans? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | They have to constantly adjust for changing weather and learn how to forecast accurately when Santa is in the air. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We work on it all year, using the test flights to get it right |
| Elf Seymour Snow | There has to be a balance between eyes on the ground, equipment, communication and coordination with the sleigh guys, with the reindeer people, the supply chain elves and, of course, Santa. They all depend on weather information |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Has the Weather Department ever changed the course of Santa’s flight? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Oh yes, many times. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We don’t tell anyone where to go. Our job is to report what’s expected with the weather and to be RIGHT |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Do you ever get it wrong? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | All the time, yes. Nobody’s perfect |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Do you track that stuff? You know, with numbers? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We do, We have what we call an accuracy percentage. It’s meaningful to us, but not to anyone else, really. But weather changes and it does so quickly in many parts of the world. It is hard to be always right |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | When you do get it wrong, what happens? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | It’s possible we could put a sleigh in a dangerous situation. So we try to follow science, and to be careful |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Has there ever been a time where weather….caused a problem for Santa’s sleigh? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Problems? Yes. Failure or a sleigh crash, no. Knock on wood. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Seymour, we tend to focus on North Pole weather a lot on Christmas Eve reporting. How much is the North Pole weather really an issue? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Not much. Santa is only here in flight for a minute or two on Christmas Eve. And take off is safer than landing, so really the concern with weather at the North Pole is more about the Workshop and getting stuff out than it is about Santa. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | We seem to have weather every Christmas Eve at the North Pole. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | If there’s one thing at the North Pole you can count on its snow from November through April. It’s an everyday thing. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Does all that weather make it hard for Santa to do what he does? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | In some cases, yes. Getting stuff here is harder than getting stuff out of the North Pole. But Santa is very organized and he’s got the best reindeer and sleigh fleet in the world. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Elf Ulan, if you have a question feel free to ask! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Seymour, how far in advance do you really look at the weather of December 23rd and 24th? |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Frank! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We begin our serious projections right about this time of the year, Frank. Santa will start getting daily projections right after Halloween. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | How often you do you talk to Santa yourself? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Oh, not much. He talked to Elf Roger Star. Occasionally, especially as we get closer to Christmas, Santa will call me or address me directly in meetings. |
| Elf Ulan | Nice to meet you, Elf Seymour! My question is how to use our tracker elves’ weather reports around the world? |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So do you report to Elf Roger? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Elf Ulan, thank you for asking about the tracker elf reports we get |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Those reports are critical, Elf Ulan |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Even with as many elves as we have dedicated to each sector, we can’t be everywhere at all times. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | The tracker elf report is simple but we ask for a lot of them because weather changes. Those tracker elves have helped us tremendously on Christmas Eve the past several years because they alert us to areas where maybe we aren’t already looking. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We use those reports a lot and it seems we ask for weather reports more than any other, especially on the day of Santa’s flight |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | What is that day like for a weather elf? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | It’s crazy, Frank. It doesn’t matter where an elf is located. They are eyes up the whole time |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | What’s the day like for you? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | My day is like your day on Christmas Eve. It’s the longest day of the year. I don’t even get sleep that day |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Yeah, I had a feeling. Is there a part of it that you like the best? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | I love it when Santa sets a new speed record and I know it happened in part because the Weather Department helped him. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | That’s a really good feeling. |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Seymour. Do you know what kind of weather report does Santa need? Temperature, winds, etc? Please give us some! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Have you ever had to make last second recommendations to Santa when he is in flight? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, we have had to warn Santa of sudden storms or high wind events or something that wasn’t seen in a forecast. We have done that many times. Santa has to think of a lot of stuff up there so we don’t tell him to do anything. But we will tell him of weather all around him so he knows |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Elf Ulan, what we need from great trackers like you is what you SEE. A tracker elf who means well will check with local weather news sources or government forecasts and that’s fine. But what we like most is when an elf looks out their own window and just reports on what is going on right then right there where they are. Temps aren’t much of a factors but winds are. Falling snow or rain can be too |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Basically, if a tracker elf would be concerned for their own safety based on what they see is information we want to share with Santa |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you. Okay, I’ll focus on the sudden changes in the weather! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | All the numbers of stuff from packaged weather forecasters on radio and tv are NO MATCH for our tracker elves and their reports. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So do the weather reports tracker elves come straight to your department, Seymour? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, indeed. And we have a team that knows how to quickly evaluate them and get them to the right people. Our department is one hopping place when trackers are tracking Santa for Santa |
| Elf Ernest | We’re just about out of time, folks. Any last minute questions for Seymour? |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | This might be a dumb question, Seymour, but a reader wants to know if your last name is really Snow? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Hahaha, yes it is! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So it’s just a coincidence that you’re a weather man? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | No. My Dad was a meteorologist. I learned my love of weather from him. But our last name is what it is. |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Seymour, how can you see the Polaris at the North Pole? XD |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Is your Dad still living? Does he know who you are in the weather world? |
| Elf Ulan | And do you see birds in the sky there? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Elf Ulan, if the skies are clear- and that’s not very often at the North Pole – we can see stars nobody else in the world can. So, yes. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | My Dad is no longer with us, sadly. But he lived long enough to see me work for Santa, yes. He was very proud |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Elf Ulan – no, not many birds at the North Pole. |
| Elf Ernest | Thank you, Elf Seymour for your time and information. I learned a LOT today! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Indeed! Thank you Seymour! I hope we get you back soon. I have a lot more questions. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Always a pleasure Frank. Thank you for this opportunity. It was fun! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Thanks everyone! |
| Elf Ulan | Elf Seymour, can you see the Polaris on the top of the sky? |
| Elf Ernest | Bye everyone! |
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Thank you very much for the information. It is greatly appreciated.
Thank you, Elf Winslow. I’m so delighted to learn a lot in the chat. Thank you for telling us, Elf Seymour. I’m pleased to know the points of the better weather reports! And thank you, Elf Ernest and Elf Frank. I always enjoy talking with both of you! XD
Thanks For Filling In For Me Elf Ernest