Precipitation is usually classified as convec- tive or stratiform. Convective precipitation is normally associated with cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds within which a sig- nificant vertical velocity keeps the cloud droplets inside the cloud, enhancing their growth until the vertical currents are not able to counteract the force of gravity any longer and precipitation is produced. Stratiform precipitation is produced mainly by nimbostratus and sometimes by strato- cumulus/altocumulus. In these clouds the vertical velocity is lower than inside the con- vective clouds, and it cannot prevent cloud droplets from falling earlier. The result is a smaller raindrop in these clouds (Houze, 1993).

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