  A long standing issue in Hydrology is the arbitrariness of the rain "event"
definition. In this manuscript, we show that 1) the event definition resting on
the occurrence of a minimum rainless period and the one resting a sequence of
consecutive wet intervals are statistically equivalent. 2) In the case of
stratiform rain, a non arbitrary definition of rain event is possible. The
dynamical properties of stratiform rain indicate the range [1.5,4] h as the
proper one for the choice of a minimum rainless period for Chilbolton, UK. 3)
The intra event dynamical variability is "described" by an alternate sequence
of quiescent and active phases.
