Winter is the coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring, marked the shortest days and

longest nights. Water may freeze and become ice, snow, sleet or icicles. Most plants and animals become dormant and rest. Some animals hibernate. The only plants that grow and remain green are evergreens. People protect themselves from the cold climate with winter clothing when they go outdoors. They en oy a variety of indoor activities or outdoor winter sports suchas skiing, skating, or sledding. !n certain areas, there is e"tremely high precipitation in the form of snowfall and some places remain permanently covered with snow. Ice fog is a rare atmospheric phenomenon, in which suspension of ice crystals is formed in the air. This happens only at temperatures that follow below #$%&'.

Spring is the season between winter and summer. !t(s the time of year when life begins again in nature.Spring begins on the day the center of the sun is directly over the e)uator. *sually, on March +,st, the sun crosses the e)uator and starts northward. -s it travels north, its rays strike the northern countries more directly each day. Spring lasts until .une +,. /"treme weather conditions characterize the spring season. This is due to the fact that during this season the warm winds coming from the lower regions are accompanied by the cold air which originates from the Polar 0egions. 1uring the spring season, days are longer and the weather is severe. The seas and rivers are full because the snow begins to melt.

Summer is the warmest season of the year when the sun shines directly on one half of the world. Summer in the 2orthern 3emisphere begins about .une +,st # the date of the summer solstice. !t ends about September +$, the date of the autumnal e)uino". *sually, .uly and -ugust are the hottest months of the summer season. 'rops, trees, and other plants reach their full maturity in summer. When the sun is the high over the 2orthern 3emisphere, it is low in the Southern 3emisphere. Summer is generally known to be the season which has the hottest and longest days in a year. The summer nights are usually smaller than those of winter. !t is a very good season for outdoor activities like vacationing, swimming or simply lazing on the beach.

Autumn is the season that comes between summer and winter. -mericans usually call this season fall because it is a time of falling leaves. The first day of autumn 4fall5 is celebrated on the fall e)uino" # a time when both night and day are e)ual. !n the northern half of the world, autumn begins about September ++. !n +%%6, the -utumn e)uino" falls on September ++. !n the southern half of the world, autumn begins and ends at the time spring begins and ends in the north. -fter -utumn, nights begin to lengthen each day until the Winter Solstice in 1ecember. This is a time when trees get rid of their old look in the process of shedding leaves.