Duluth Polar Plunge 2018 is nearly here, with hundreds of brave plungers set to dip into Lake Superior for Special Olympics of Minnesota. This year, there are a total of three events happening around the Duluth event, giving people multiple ways to be part of the festivities and help in the fundraising efforts. While the weather may change from day to day (or even hour to hour), one thing is constant. The temperature of Lake Superior's water is just a couple degrees above freezing, which many days can be refreshingly warmer than the air above. Remember that forecasts can and do change, here's the latest:

Cool School Plunge - Friday, February 16 at Noon

The first of the three events is slated for Friday, with the first ever Cool School Plunge for Duluth area high school students. This exclusive plunge, set to start at noon, looks to be chilly, but certainly not unbearable. At plunge time, we should see mostly sunny conditions and 12 degrees. One x-factor is the wind, which could gust up to around 10 mph, adding a bit of a windchill factor that will make it feel a little colder. If those winds hold up to where there are expected, this would translate to a windchill that feels more like 0 degrees.

Polar Plunge 5K - Saturday, February 17 at 9:00 am

The second event of the weekend is something that has become a tradition over the last few years. The Polar Plunge 5K gives runners the chance to support the cause and raise some money through running instead of plunging (even though many runners also plunge too!) Things are expected to be much warmer for Saturday's events. At the time of the run, we're expecting to see partly to mostly cloudy sky conditions with a temperature near 18 degrees. A southwest breeze is expected to be a factor in the morning, giving us a windchill feeling more like 8 degrees at the start of the race.

2018 Duluth Polar Plunge - 2:00 pm

While it will remain mostly cloudy into the afternoon, temperatures are expected to climb to near 29 degrees by plunge time. This "balmy" temperature will be knocked down a little by a southwest breeze, giving us a windchill value closer to 20 degrees. Even then, that is still warmer than we've had in previous years.

Good luck to all of our plungers! Remember that you'll be able to watch the 2018 Duluth Polar Plunge on our website! Just bookmark this link and share it with your friends. We'll also have a recording of the plunge available a few minutes after the plunge is over so you can relive all of the fun!

If you're wondering what the plunge site looks like before being prepped for the weekend's events, here is some live video from midday Monday. There is plenty of ice and snow that will be moved out of the way for the event. if the sheet of ice on Lake Superior isn't blown out before Saturday, a crew will cut a hole in the ice for plungers to find their way into the lake.

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