With one more week to go until the Kingfish Cafe marks its final Sunday brunch on Capitol Hill, the gods unleashed their wet anger on Seattle, sending down a saturating deluge from 19th and Mercer to Melrose… and beyond. A line 40 to 50 people deep waiting for the cafe’s 10 AM opening Sunday withstood the early brunt of the slightly unexpected downpour.

UPDATE: Kingfish has announced an update for its hours of business on its final weekend at 19th and Mercer:

Please note the hours for our last days of operation;
Thurs January 22, dinner 5 pm until 9 30 pm
Fri January 23, dinner (only) 5 pm until 10 30 pm
Sat January 24th brunch 10 am until 2 pm
Sat January 24th dinner 5 pm until 10 30pm
Sun January 25 dinner (only) 4 pm until 9 30 pm
No reservatios and expect longer than usual waits.
Thank you and we look forward to seeing you.

Meanwhile, this storm drain near the Starbucks Roastery at Melrose and Pike couldn’t take the pressure. No reports of damage, yet, from inside the $30+ million facility. SPU says the water came from overflowing storm drains in the area, not a water main break.

Power has remained on through the area this morning as fans await the noontime broadcast of the hometown broadcast of the Seahawks conference championship game. Overnight, a power outage hit some areas of the Hill leaving microwave clocks flashing but most sleepers blissfully unaware.

The National Weather Service predicts the high winds and stormy conditions will “ease” through the day. Of course, the NWS also was responsible for this particular component of today’s forecast: “Chance of precipitation is 80%”

More pics and etc. below.