This article used the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) version 3.8 and simulated rainfall event in the period of July 21 to 22, 2012 in Beijing as a case study, with consideration of different land use and cover data. The rainfall event was simulated using a physical parametrization scheme that included a multi-layered city dome model. The results of the hourly and accumulative rainfall simulation indicated that the expansion of the urban area made the rainfall last longer and it also led to bigger affected area by the rainfall. Based on the simulated rainfall event, the duration of hourly rainfall of more than 16 mm increased by 1 h between 1990 test and 2010 test, and the area of accumulative precipitation exceeding 150 mm over 24 h increased by 1534 km ² over the same period. Further research is needed to determine the possible impact of changes in atmospheric aerosol particles produced by human activities in the urban area and the changes in landscape urbanization density on rainfall. Identifying the effect of landscape urbanization in metropolitan areas on rainfall will improve countermeasures for prevention of urban flooding and waterlogging risk. Future research will focus on improving the simulation effect of the model on the precipitation process. There was some discrepancy between the simulated and actual hourly precipitation in this study. Future work will investigate the parametric scheme of the model and the precipitation mechanisms it uses.