Rain rates, wind speeds, and vertically integrated values of both atmospheric water vapor and cloud liquid water content were obtained from the brightness temperatures measured by the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) on the Nimbus 7 satellite during the winter of 1979. We examine their spatial relationship to wintertime midlatitude cyclones and shortwave trough over the North Pacific Ocean as they approach the west coast of North America. Cold fronts are found to be located near the edge of the strongest gradient in integrated atmospheric water vapor. The rain rates exhibit patterns that bear a strong relationship both to the shortwave trough and to the cold fronts. Mesoscale features such as frontal undulations and rain cells are indicated in the rain data, even though the sensor resolution is marginal for such features. Rain rates are in reasonably good agreement with rain gage measurements on the coast. Furthermore, the onset of rain on the coast agrees with the timing found by simple advection of the SMMR observed rain areas, suggesting their possible future use in forecasting the timing of coastal rain events. Wind speeds ranging from 5 to 15 m/s in a region surrounding a cold front agree with surface observations. Cloud liquid water content exhibits patterns that are consistent with the frontal cloud patterns and with the analysis of the shortwave position.