In my view, the most inhabited parts of California really have two seasons, 'wet' and 'dry' But spring and fall are transitions with their own nifty stuff. Since coastal California is a mediterranean climate, it gets almost all of its rain in winter, mostly november - april. but the difference between the seasons are huge if you get out of the city.. much more than 'wet' or 'dry'. One of the most awesome times in California is when the first real rain of the fall comes. Everything is dead and dry but the rain falls crackling on the grass and suddenly everything seems new again, i swear you can feel the live oaks sucking up the water. Fall storms are mostly wind and mottled clouds, not much rainy substance to them. But soon the rains set in for good (unless its a drought year) and everything greens up. The few deciduous trees are bare but the hills are green like Scotland and the creeks fill again. In a good rainy season, everything is solid green or blue and every little valley has a little creek in it. the end of the rainy season is charactarized by quick little bouts of rain and occasional thunderstorms with lots of sun in between. this causes massive amounts of flowers like poppy and lupine to bloom and the grasses to grow extremely fast. Later on in the summer stuff slowly dries up and gets crispy again, and occasionally a grass fire will make the air fragrantly smoky. In most places winter is a time of waiting, waiting for sun and warmth for life to go on. In California, summer is mostly a time of waiting for the rain. The pattern is a bit different a ways east, if you want to see a good thunderstorm, head out to Bishop or Inyo county or the White Mountains in August...