But in Chad, zero visibility means something entirely different:

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That my friends is a good ol’ Chadian sandstorm.  Strong winds pick up large amounts of fine sand and carry them across the desert.  They are normally the precursor for a rainstorm.  When people see them coming, everyone begins to close everything: shops, homes, vehicles, etc.  If you are unfortunate (or not very smart) and get caught in one of these, you simply keep your eyes shut as a load of sand fills your hair, ears, and clothes.  Sandstorms can be short (a couple minutes) or sometimes last a good half hour or more.  Once there have been a good number of rains to saturate the land, the sandstorms cease, but we haven’t reached that point yet.

One funny thing you’ll hear foreigners say here after cleaning post-sandstorm is, “Well, I just finished sweeping the Sahara out of my house.”