It was the rainiest New Year's Eve since 1994, but the soggy weather couldn't dampen the celebration in Times Square. Nearly a million (or just tens of thousands?) counted down the end of 2018 and welcomed 2019.

Revelers, many of whom had been waiting since 8 a.m. (!) without umbrellas, filled the blocks around Times Square, as did the massive police presence. The NYPD had been scheduled to launch drones, as part of its new Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) program, but the chief of the department, Terence Monahan, announced on Twitter at 5:25 p.m., "The safety of all those celebrating #NewYearsEve in #TimesSqaure is paramount. Due to the rain and wind tonight, our NYPD drones will NOT be in the air."

There were some members of the NYPD embedded in the crowd:

Others were more obviously dressed:

Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray pressed the button that cues the Times Square New Year's Eve ball's descent, and the guests helping with those honors were journalists, as New Year's Eve organizers wanted to pay tribute to press freedom. Among the journalists were Karen Attiah, Global Opinions Editor, The Washington Post; Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Managing Editor, The New York Times; Alisyn Camerota, Anchor, CNN New Day; Vladimir Duthiers, Anchor, CBSN and Correspondent, CBS News; TIME Editor and CEO Edward Felsenthal; Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News; Matt Murray, Editor-in-Chief, The Wall Street Journal; Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent, ABCNews; Maria Ressa, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Editor, Rappler; Jon Scott, Anchor, Fox Report Weekend; Karen Toulon, Editor, Bloomberg News; and Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.

After the kissing and singing of "Auld Lang Syne," the Department of Sanitation got to work on cleaning up Times Square:

"New Year’s Eve in New York City brings not only millions of people to the Times Square area, but also tons of debris," said Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia in a statement. "Thanks to a small army of Sanitation employees, every last piece of confetti will be quickly cleared away."

FYI, Sanitation workers—if you happen to find an eyeball...

Happy New Year, everyone!