New Orleans ? Costumed revelers partying in the French Quarter made it clear: The countdown to Mardi Gras is on, despite chilly winds and a drenching rain.

Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is New Orleans’ biggest tourist event — and crowds on the eve were a welcome sight to merchants who had feared a triple blow from weather, war worries and a sluggish national economy.

“I don’t think there’s that much change. People are still making money,” said Angelle Blanchard, the manager of one Bourbon Street store.

Monday’s downpour drove people off the streets and into bars, cafes and the balconies that line Bourbon Street. The rain was forecast to stop by Monday night.

Ed Camblin and Erik Strankman of Aurora, Colo., took refuge under an awning near Cafe du Monde to protect their garb — velvet coats, knee-length pants, three-corner hats and white wigs in the style of 18th-century French aristocrats.

“I don’t think it’s as packed as last year, but that probably makes it a little better, because it’s easier to move around and talk to people,” Camblin said.

The sour economy and prospect of war appeared to be taking at least some toll on business. Blanchard’s store lies below a sign that reads: “Balcony Party Space Available.”

She said a group from Europe had leased the balcony a year ago, then decided to cancel.

Hotel occupancy, however, was estimated around 90 percent over the weekend, comparable to last year’s estimates, according to Alfred Groos, president of the Greater New Orleans Hotel-Motel Assn.

Jennifer Hadfield, left, and Jennifer Ashford throw beads to the Mardi Gras revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. The city's countdown to Mardi Gras proceeded Monday, despite chilly winds, drizzle and dark clouds that threatened to rain on one of its most elaborate parades. Mardi Gras is today.

In an effort to rein in the festival’s wilder side just a bit, the city has enacted a ban on drinking alcohol out of bottles and glasses in the French Quarter. New signs lining Bourbon Street and side streets say: “No bottles or glass allowed on the street. Drinks may be in plastic.”

Broken bottles had become a bigger problem in recent years.

“It was so bad that at one point the police said they couldn’t get police horses out there because it would hurt their feet,” said Earl Bernhardt, who owns two clubs on Bourbon Street.

Mardi Gras is the final fling before Lent, the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter observed by Christians as a season of fasting and penitence.