Two Micro Rain Radars (MRR) were deployed at ridge locations in the Pigeon and French Broad river basins during May - August 2011 in the Southern Appalachians to collect information regarding the vertical structure of hydrometeors. The MRRs were collocated with tipping bucket rain gauges and automated weather stations. A Parsivel disdrometer was also available at one of the locations. The rain gauge records and MRR reflectivity profiles were analyzed in order to characterize the diurnal cycle of rainfall, the summer season precipitation regime in the mountains, and spatial gradients in the evolution of microphysical properties within the vertical column of rainfall (hydrometeor type, size distribution, and rain rate). In addition, concurrent MRR and ground observations from the Precipitation Measurement Mission (PMM) rain gauge network in the Great Smoky Mountains were used along with TRMM PR and CLOUDSAT precipitation and reflectivity products to investigate the reliability of light rainfall estimates.