IOWA CITY – Will McDonald lost all his class notes and textbooks. His entire wardrobe, bed and what little furniture filled his efficiency apartment are destroyed. Odds his laptop will work are lousy.

A class ring, cell phone charger and a few photographs were all McDonald salvaged after a tornado ripped off the roof of his apartment building and turned his life upside down.

For McDonald, graduate student from Austin, Texas, and hundreds of other students at the University of Iowa, the timing of the first twister to strike near campus in 35 years couldn’t have been worse. Although the storm caused few injuries, many students must now worry as much about finding shelter and other needs as they do about term papers and final exams.

“Yes I feel lucky, but it’s just such a weird situation now,” said McDonald, who has slept the last few nights at a Red Cross shelter inside the student union building. “But I’ve got to find a place to live before I can think about anything else.”

The University canceled classes Friday as the city of 60,000 embarked on cleanup after a tornado rated F2 by the National Weather Service carved a 3 1/2-mile path of destruction through the heart of Iowa City’s downtown.

The twister and accompanying winds estimated at 150 mph tore off roofs, flipped cars, damaged businesses and destroyed St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and Alpha Chi Omega sorority.