[media-credit name=’YANA PASKOVA/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]April rain showers failed to stop University of Wisconsin students and others from partying at the annual Mifflin Street Block Party Saturday. As rain and wind conditions grew worse, however, partygoers left the area early, and patrolling police officers left the party around 8 p.m. — nearly two hours earlier than in previous years. Still, partygoers seemed to enjoy themselves at the traditional Madison celebration. "I'm pleased to report after talking to a lot of partygoers and a lot of Mifflin residents, most folks had a good time," Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. "And at least we got a few hours in before Mother Nature intervened with the cold and rainy weather." Verveer, who has played an integral role in planning the entire party, said the weather "drastically" impacted the crowd turnout. "The cops had estimated that at the height of the party, there were between 10 and 15 thousand at the party," he noted. The figure is lower than last year's estimate, which reached around 20,000 people. Police made 267 arrests at the party, according to a Madison Police Department release, and Verveer noted the vast majority of the arrests were on non-criminal alcohol-related charges. Though more than 200 arrests were made, Hanson did say officers witnessed a much larger number of people overconsuming alcohol. "What we had was about 100 officers standing in the cold rain watching people drink and overconsume alcohol," he said. "Can there be success? That is the question … that others have to ask." Fourteen of those arrested went to jail, but most of the people taken to jail were visiting from outside the state, according to Verveer. And while 37 percent of the arrests made were UW students, Verveer felt the number reflects the type of UW-oriented crowd that attends the block party each year. House party citations were also lower this year, as only five houses are in the process of receiving citations, according to Verveer. "I was pleasantly surprised to find out it may be only five parties," he said. "Last year, we had at least double — if not triple — of that." One house, Verveer said, will definitely face a high number of fines, as all 11 residents of the house at 518 W. Mifflin St. will receive five counts of party violations each. The weather was a deciding factor in determining the end of the party, as Madison Police Department Public Information Officer Mike Hanson said street sweepers began to clean the area around 8 p.m. UW junior Katherine Guerra, who lives on the 500 block of Mifflin Street, agreed the weather had some impact on the overall behavior of partygoers. "I think weather made it a little calmer," she said. "I didn't really see anything too dramatic." Hanson additionally noted the police department's plans of enforcement at the annual event were deployed smoothly. "For police officers, the plan in place worked perfectly," he said. "Every time we do this, the whole event from the law enforcement comes together to work as a team." Guerra understood the enforcement tactics of the police were part of a plan to keep behavior of intoxicated students under control. "It's more difficult to get out of control," she said. "Every year they're getting a little more stringent, like the fact that you couldn't have glass bottles or beverages on the sidewalks." The biggest complaints Verveer received from Mifflin residents centered on the jurisdiction of police officers and their music tolerance, as some bands were shut down for excessive amplification. He felt the complaints address a "perennial" issue of music tolerance that should be dealt with in the future. With the calmer environment and the lack of serious incidents, Guerra said she enjoyed this year's party. "It was fun," she said. "It was interesting to see how it's skewed from this anti-war protest into this beer-guzzling event."