Re: How cold is it?
SW BC is having a mild (even for here) winter. We've been out hiking almost every weekend, often up to 1500 m elevations with not a trace of snow, all is green and lush with mosses and ferns everywhere. Night before last I took the dog out and it was warmer outside than in (it seemed, anyway), I think it was close to 20 C (68F) at 11 pm.
I miss the snow (I grew up in the interior of BC) but not the real cold... my wife taught for a year in Elkford in the Rockies, one morning it was -50C (-58F) without wind chill (fortunately there was no wind).