Latest local news, weather, high school sports in the Rio Grande Valley

AMARILLO, TEXAS -- It's safe to say it's always an adventure in the newsroom we read hundreds of stories a day. Wednesday we ran across an unusual one. Apparently a shift in the Earth's magnetic north pole has caused a runway at Tampa International airport to be shut down. The Earth's magnetic pole always moves because the molten iron core in the center is spinning and that's what causes the shifts.

So when it comes to runways they have a number that corresponds to the bearing of a compass, which uses that magnetic pull.  So you when a pilot is approaching the runway, they know what direction to point.

Over time it moves and isn't accurate any more. In fact, the magnetic north pole, is in Canada right now. People have been using that magnetic field to navigate for centuries and build cities, even here in Amarillo.

That's why you'll see some of downtown Amarillo has a shift to it. "If you take a look at the map of downtown Amarillo, you'll see downtown is laid out north and south and it's shifted a little bit. The rest of Amarillo is laid out on a different orientation and it's because the old downtown of Amarillo was laid out in the magnetic north and south and now we're using true north and south to lay out city streets," said Chip Lindsey, from the Don Harrington Discover Center. In Amarillo he said that's about five degrees.

Lindsey continued saying they've been re-designed runway numbers for years. Here in Amarillo, it's not affecting business at Rick Husband Amarillo International airport.

So what's the difference between magnetic north and true north? The magnetic north uses a compass and the pull from the Earth's surface.

True north is the location on the globe where the planet is spinning, it's the axis of rotation of the Earth. What is the largest magnet in the world? It is the world. The molten iron core of a planet like our Earth generates a magnetic field. Planets without a molten iron core have no magnetic poles and are constantly blasted by the sun's radiation.

Over the past century, the pole has moved about 685 miles toward Russia, currently about 25 miles a year.  And for everyone out there worried about Santa, don't! He will not be affected because he doesn't use the magnetic north, he uses true north. Also, he and the reindeer made the shift to GPS years ago.