A simple model for estimating the upward and downward microwave emission from rain layer types above ground is presented. The emission properties of the rain layers are estimated from physical quantities such as the optical depth, the single-scattering albedo, the physical temperature, and a given drop size distribution for Mie scattering calculations. The underlying surface is characterized by the emissivity and the physical temperature. The transparency coefficient q and the reflection coefficient r of the rain layer are expressed by these physical quantities. The brightness temperature then is given by the physical temperature T, q, and r. The radiation transfer is estimated by the method of layer addition, described by Sobolev <1956>, which avoids the necessity of solving the equation of radiation transfer. The accuracy of this simple model was estimated by comparisons with three-dimensional Monte Carlo calculations. The error is estimated to be less than 3 K for common situations and less than 8 K for unrealistic high optical depths. It is shown that any one of the quantities rain rate, rain layer depth, and physical temperature can be estimated with sufficient accuracy if the others are known. The basic model has been extended for application to inhomogeneous cloud layers and to include differences in brightness temperatures for horizontal and vertical polarizations for oblate raindrops. The main intended application of this model is rain rate estimation from space with low data processing efforts, especially for the Priroda mission. The model was tested for the downwelling emission during the field experiment CLEOPATRA by measurements with a polarimetric weather radar and rain gauges. The results verify the principles, and promising agreement was found at least for stratiform rain. The polarimetric extension of the model too showed promising results under quite different measurement conditions in Russia and southern Germany. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996