After an unusual snowy Portland week, an estimated 1,500 polar plungers dashed into the frigid Columbia River on Saturday to raise money for Special Olympics Oregon. The annual Portland Polar Polar Plunge took place on Broughton Beach in Northeast Portland and included a 5k race, costume contest and a small group of super plungers, who plunged 24 times in 24 hours raising $65,000.

Participants were split into 16 groups. Each group plunged once over the course of about an hour. The final plunge of the day was the ColorPlunge, which is inspired by the festival of Holi, a Hindu festival heralding the coming of spring.

Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese and members of the Timbers Army also took a dip.

In 2017, the event raised $450,000 between donations from both the public and sponsors. The final tally for this year's event is not out.

--Mark Graves