The weather for the 2019 “Polar Bear” plunge nearly shattered records at a balmy 59 degrees — but swimmers said it still felt like they were submerged in glacial waters.

Head polar bear in charge, Dennis Thomas, said the water temperatures clocked in at around 45 degrees for the 1:00 p.m. plunge, in which some 3,800 people threw themselves into the frigid ocean.

Maria Nunez, who took her first dip Tuesday, said the water was so cold she didn’t even realize she’d lost a shoe in the waves.

“You just lose all feeling,” said the mom, whose 4-year-old son also participated. “I came out with one shoe and didn’t know till maybe 10 minutes later.”

Veteran participant Rafael Sanchez has taken part for the past three years, and said Tuesday’s swim was a breeze compared to last year’s 7 degree weather, when the area experienced the lowest temperatures on record since the event began in 1903.

“Last year it burned, it was horrible,” said the 32-year-old Queens resident, who arrived decked out in an Elvis costume — complete with white hot pants. “This year is fine.”

The weather this year was so fair that some people opted to lay out in the sun to warm up after their icy adventure, still in their bikinis and swim trunks.

“I almost feel like it’s a little bit discounted because it’s so nice today,” upstate New Yorker Garret Rilley commented as he reclined on his towel.

While Tuesday came close, the record for hottest plunge was set in 1966, when the mercury rose to a tropical 62 degrees, according to Accuweather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller.

“It was a mild one,” added Miller of the Tuesday’s weather. “Challenging the record, but not quite beating it. This is still an anomaly.”