Several mechanisms that are important to determine mass, momentum and energy exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere are not resolved in coupled atmospheric-ocean general circulation models. Among those effects we find those related to clouds and precipitation. For instance, in the tropics, particularly in the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP), the large amounts of fresh water added to the ocean surface by precipitating convective systems can alter the ocean buoyancy. Since the buoyancy flux associated with precipitation is large at the WPWP, the isothermal layer is often deeper than the mixed-layer and this is a key factor in maintaining warm SSTs. The existence of a salt-stratified layer between the mixed-layer and the bottom of the isothermal layer prevents the entrainment of cool water from below into the mixed-layer. Therefore, such a salt-stratified layer acts as a barrier for heat fluxes because the stability associated with that region resists mixing (“barrier-layer”). Eventually, during daytime, if the winds are light, the turbulent mixing may be suppressed by the heating near the surface associated with the incoming solar radiation. Therefore, this upper layer becomes decoupled from the mixed-layer below, and its temperature may rise rapidly. Only strong winds can overcome this stabilizing influence. It has been observed that the so-called “warm-layer” effect can be very substantial at the WPWP. This paper presents preliminary results of coupled one-dimensional and two-dimensional simulations of the interaction between the ocean mixed-layer and convection at the WPWP, which attest the important role of precipitation on the evolution of the upper-ocean