The annual Polar Bear Plunge in Coeur d'Alene is always a cold one.

This year, it's going to be even colder.

A few hundred people are expected to line up at Sanders Beach at noon on Saturday for a New Year's Day dip into Lake Coeur d'Alene.

The forecast is calling for temperatures to be about zero degrees, perhaps going as low as negative 5 degrees, with a chance of snow.

For diehards, that's no problem. In fact, it's part of the fun

"Cold weather coming. Don't be scared. Polar Bears endure. Be brave and do something BOLD. We got this!" reads a post on the Polar Bear Plunge Facebook site.

The temperature of Lake Coeur d'Alene should be a relatively mild 40 degrees.

The tradition started with a few friends in 1978 and has continued on a larger scale since then.

People generally begin arriving in the morning and stake their spot on the beach, which is currently covered with snow.

The minutes, and then the seconds, are counted down to noon, when screaming people, some in costumes, charge into the lake, dive under, and still screaming, run back out to towels, clothes and hot chocolate.

It's free and anyone is welcome.

There is also a Polar Bear Plunge into Lake Pend Oreille at 10 a.m. Jan. 1, at the public boat launch in Bayview.