Grumbling locals have some tourists scratching their heads and others commiserating as temperatures continue to hover slightly below the paradise mark.

The cool, windy weather that arrived in the state Friday is expected to stick around until tomorrow morning, possibly bringing snow to the summits of Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala.

An "unusually intense" low pressure system approaching from the northeast is responsible, said National Weather Service lead forecaster Hans Rosendal.

The cold hasn't been anywhere near record-breaking. With the exception of Honolulu Airport, at 76 degrees, temperatures on Oahu yesterday stayed around 72 degrees. Last night's overnight low was 68 degrees.

The lowest temperature for the day is 58 degrees, recorded in 1962. The record high for Feb. 24 is 85 degrees, set last year.

Chicken skin prevailed at Hanauma Bay, where a snorkeling outfit found no afternoon takers.

"The people were all complaining about the cold," said Tommy Henderson, owner of Tommy's Tours. Rentals were down about 15 percent, he said.

As temperatures dropped, so did iced coffee sales at Java Java Cafe in Kapahulu.

"Usually people order the ice mochas, but today it's hot mochas," said employee Cathy Ho.

Residents and tourists donned jackets and sweatpants.

"I can't believe it," said Cele Sloan, a frequent visitor to the islands from Sun City West, Ariz. "I've never had weather this cold in Honolulu."

Carl Johnson of Nashville, Tenn., waited in shorts and a T-shirt at a downtown bus stop.

"When I got on the plane in Tennessee, it was 22 degrees, so this is perfect," he said. "When it's that cold, you learn to appreciate the warm weather and don't mind a degree or two difference."

Pressed, Johnson admitted he was cold.

"Maybe I should work for the tourism department," he said.

Fast-food restaurant owner Wilbur Low was across Kilauea Avenue on the front side of the Hara Building when he heard the roof go.

It made a sound like "whaaah boom" and crashed through the windshield of a parked truck, he said. "It's just lucky nobody got hurt."

Winds peaking at 59 miles an hour just before 1 p.m. tore roofs off buildings, downed power lines, and threw trees onto the streets of Hilo and the roads of the adjoining Puna district yesterday.

"I feel that we're going to have 200 to 300 homes affected," said county Civil Defense Director Harry Kim. "We're going to have many, many people affected."

He said it was too soon to estimate the dollar value of the damage.

Kim's deputy, Bruce Butts, said it was the worst windstorm to hit Hilo since the Feb. 16, 1986, blow that caused more than $6 million in damage.

Opinions varied on which was worse.

Butts said the previous one caused more damage, but Ibanez said, "I'm 71 years old and this is the worst I've ever seen."

The Hilo Hotel facing Kalakaua Park also lost part of its roof.

Most of it landed in the parking lot fronting the hotel's Restaurant Fuji, but pieces flew a half block to the YWCA building, forcing that facility to close, said Fire Department spokesman Lloyd Narimatsu.

The hotel and restaurant have been vacant and for sale since closing on June 30 last year, said caretaker and former manager Jiro Oki. "I'm just glad nobody was hurt," he said.

Dive shop owner Bill DeRooy said, "I've never seen anything develop so fast in the 15 years I've been living here."

A sailor experienced with winds, DeRooy said winds stayed around 30 miles an hour through the morning.

"Then all of a sudden it went up to 50. I saw people walking across the park. They could hardly walk," he said.

Will LaPlante at the National Weather Service confirmed DeRooy's estimates: a peak of 59 miles an hour and an average of about 48 miles an hour during the worst period.

DeRooy's dive shop wasn't damaged, but the open-air, pipe frame and blue tarpaulin Hilo Farmer's Market next to him was a shambles.

DeRooy showed an eight-foot pipe with a pointed stake attached, which the wind had sent flying into the street.

"Could you imagine getting hit by this?" he asked.

The market needs sturdier construction, he said.

"This is real scary. This is like a warning," he said.

Market operator Michael Rankin said he was at the market around 6:30 a.m., but winds died down then. He came back at midmorning when they increased.

"I came down and ran (the vendors) out of here before it got bad," he said.

At Hilo Harbor, Byron Bisney, owner of the 32-foot sailboat Feather out of Sequim, Wash., found his boat being slammed against Pier One.

"If I stay here all night, it will break up," he said. Harbormaster Ian Birnie used a tow line attached to a forklift to pull the boat to a safer spot.

Trees fell on a couple of homes in Nanawale, southeast of Pahoa, Civil Defense official Lanny Nakano said.

The Hawaii Electric Light Co. said there were numerous power outages in Hilo and Puna. The University of Hawaii at Hilo and Hawaii Community College canceled classes for the day.

The Red Cross set up and emergency shelter at Clem Akina Park. Five people were staying at the Puueo Community Center in Wainaku in south Hilo, Nakano said.

Part of a roof of a house blew off in Iao Valley, police said.

A tree branch tore down electrical wires along Iao Valley Road, and a telephone pole in Hana on Haneoo Road was blown down this morning.

An electrical pole also fell to high winds yesterday at Meakoho Place in Kula, a Maui Electric spokesman said.