How Weather Tracking Works at the North Pole
Elf Seymour Snow, head elf in the Weather Department at North Pole Flight Command, was the featured guest in North Pole Chat as part of Christmas in July. He discussed the size of the Weather Department at the North Pole and the constant work that goes into tracking weather around the globe. North Pole Flight Command supports sleigh flights all over the word, necessitating in a gigantic weather effort. This is how that discussion went.
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Folks, today we are chatting with Elf Seymour Snow, head elf of the Weather Department at the North Pole. So Seymour, how’s the weather? |
| Elf Ulan | Elf Seymour! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | How’s the weather…where? |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Wherever you are….where are you? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | I’m at the North Pole. Where are you, Frank? |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Today I am in California. Taking care of some family matters. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Well, then the weather is likely pretty warm there. Here, where I am, it is as you would expect….a little colder than you, but daylight all the time right now. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Do you know what the weather is everywhere? |
| Elf Ulan | (I hope they are okay, Elf Frank) |
| Elf Seymour Snow | No, not exactly. But that is our specialty at the North Pole. To try to follow the weather wherever we can. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Everything is good, Elf Ulan. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Why is the North Pole so obsessed with weather? |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, I feel relieved it |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We have to be. North Pole Flight Command always have sleighs in the skies. We need to keep an eye out for them. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | But Santa only really travels around the world once a year. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, thank goodness. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So why watch the weather all the time? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Because Santa is not the only one who flies. North Pole Flight Command is the sleigh port for the world. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | For example, the test flights, which are in the South Pacific right now. We have to have weather data to help them. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Oh, I see. So how many elves does it take to cover the world year round just to track the weather? |
| Elf Ulan | How’s the weather in the South Pacific? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We have 6000 weather stations, all staffed 24-hours a day. And it still does not give us the coverage we crave. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | WOW. That’s a lot of elves. They all work for you? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | The weather in the South Pacific is active, but things are manageable right now. The test flights are about to go global so we’re trying to prepare for that. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, Frank, they all report to me. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | What do you mean that the test flights are going “global”? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | The test flights are soon to go on a sprint around the globe. For the last week or so they have been in the South Pacific because the weather there has been good. But they have a need for a long range test. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Long range? What does that mean? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | It means they need to go completely around the world and we need to provide them with a safe path for flights. That test is one they want to do in clear weather. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Well….why do they want to go completely around the world? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | That’s a question suited for the test flight people. But I think it has something to do with high speed drills and landing capabilities of the new sleigh. There will be lots of take offs and landings. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So when you say to give them a path you need to tell them where they can and cannot go? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, that is right. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Wow. That’s a lot of control they are handing to you |
| Elf Seymour Snow | It’s not about control. It’s about keeping them safe. We’re just telling them in this instance where to dodge the weather. Later on they will be taking test flights right IN TO the weather. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Ha! Do they ever get mad at you? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Only when we get it wrong. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Does that happen a lot, where the weather department gets it wrong? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Oh yes. It happens all the time. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | How can you get it wrong in this age of computers and the Internet? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | The weather changes constantly, Frank. For as good as computers are they are never as good as the human eye. That’s why we want reports from everywhere |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Wow, it’s pretty fascinating to think about. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Have you ever gotten the weather wrong when Santa has been in flight? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Of course we have. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Does he get mad when that happens? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | No, never. Santa is a professional. He files many weather reports himself, so we know what’s going on when he’s out there. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | He does? How interesting. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Like many pilots Santa is a weather geek. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | He is? Who knew? |
| Elf Ulan | I heard that reindeer put a |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Hahaha – that just means Santa understands elves like me. He understands everyone. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Do you and Santa talk about the weather a lot? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes. I hear from Santa at any hour of the day. |
| Elf Ulan | Sorry, my hands were wrong |
| Elf Seymour Snow | He will text me at 4 in the morning to ask about the weather in places like South Africa. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Go ahead with your question Elf Ulan |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Frank |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Santa has a lot to think about and his weather needs are variable. I never know why he asks stuff but I know he always has a good reason. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Does he know you sleep too? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Hahaha – he’s not rude about it. He also has direct access to the entire weather department if he cannot get hold of me personally. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So is Santa aware of all these elves that work in the Weather Department? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | He is. And he loves us! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We are his sunshine. |
| Elf Ulan | Elf Seymour, I heard about a research machine put on the reindeer. Can it also check the weather? |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | LOL. I love that! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, Elf Ulan. We do have the harnesses on every sleigh equipped with sensors that provide weather data. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Flight Command and the Reindeer Department both need that data, as do we. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Any reindeer flying on official North Pole business has to wear that equipment. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Just part of the rules and the safety mechanisms that are in place when sleighs fly |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We constantly work on that technology to improve it. It is quite helpful |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So are you telling me that all those test flights in the South Pacific are sending you weather data? |
| Elf Ulan | Wow, it’s excellent! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes. Every other sleigh in the skies from the North Pole do that too. All the time. Constantly. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Wow. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, we have several hundred elves in North Pole Flight Command that work round the clock to manage that data |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Most people do not know the extensive efforts of the Weather Department. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | I’ll say. I had no idea! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Any last questions for Elf Seymour? We’re almost out of time. |
| Elf Ulan | I know. Thank you for your all hard work! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We are kind of hidden elves. People don’t know about us. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Yes, indeed. Thank you for your hard work. So…I’m here in California. I took a sleigh to get here. Were you getting weather tracking data from my sleigh? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, Frank. We not only know what weather you flew through but also everywhere you have been in that sleigh and what the weather data is in your travels. Same for when you come back later today. |
| Elf Ulan | Can you see the sunrise or sunset at the North Pole? |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | So you track me? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | We don’t track YOU. We track the weather around your sleigh. If you head out on a walk right now we wan’t have data. But if you take the sleigh down to, say, Mexico, yeah, we’re going to know. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | I see. That’s kind of scary of you think of it. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | No, what’s scary is if you go to Mexico and there’s a hurricane you don’t know about. That’s scary. We work to keep you and every other sleigh out there out of danger. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Wow. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Elf Ulan, yes. We track the sunrise and sunset. Right now, there is a lot of daylight at the North Pole. As the earth tilts, we lose that daylight. Eventually it will be dark all the time. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Yes, I can confirm we are in summer at the North Pole. I took off at 1am and it was light out. It’s weird. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Yes, time of day is a huge factor in sleigh flight, Frank. We have to keep track of that for places around the world. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Elf Seymour, thank you for joining us today. You have been informative! |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Thank you for having me and for your interest, Frank. Most don’t think about us because they don’t think about the weather a lot. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | It is nice to get a chance to talk a little about what we do and why we do it. |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Seymour, I want to see it there someday! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | I agree. We need to focus on you and the elves a little more than we do. You do very important work. Can we have you come back? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Of course, Frank. We’d be delighted. |
| Elf Seymour Snow | And Elf Ulan, we’d love to have you as a weather elf too! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Hahaha – I think Elf Ulan wants to work in the Reindeer Department. |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Thanks Elf Seymour! |
| Elf Ulan | Really? Can I do it? |
| Elf Seymour Snow | Thank you. Goodbye every one! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Bye Seymour! Thank you everyone! |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | That’s our chat for today. Just us soon for another Christmas in July Chat – the next, I think is another Saturday Night chat with Elf Crash |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | I wonder who his secret guest will be next time? |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, Elf Seymour and Elf Frank! (Oh, you know about me, Elf Seymour!) |
| Elf Frank Myrrh | Have a good day and a good night everyone! |
| Elf Ulan | Thank you, you too! |
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This is just great! Love it.
Thank you, Elf Winslow, and thank you, Elf Frank and Elf Seymour! It was very interesting. I’m so happy to know how Elf Seymour and the Weather Department elves keep all sleighs safe and are essential. Yes, I want to learn more, too! I heard that the weather connects with nature and animals because they are the universe. Of course, I will continue to learn about reindeer for receiving Santa’s verification of reindeer, which will take many years. But, Elf Seymour, I’d love to work with you all as a weather elf! Because it’s my pleasure to work together more… Read more »