Snowstorm vs. sandstorm; CNA campuses close for very different reasons

Two College of the North Atlantic campuses announced weather-related closures on Thursday, but the type of storm at each site was quite different.

The CNA campus in Carbonear on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula announced in the morning there would be a delayed opening due to overnight snowfall.

A few hours earlier, halfway around the world on the Arabian Peninsula, CNA campus in Doha, Qatar was closed for the day for a very different reason — a sandstorm.

Back in Carbonear, wet slushy snow covered houses and roads in the community.

In Qatar, schools throughout the city of Doha were closed after a blinding sandstorm rolled through the region, making visibility poor and creating a safety hazard for anyone outside breathing in the dust.

Newfoundlander Mark Skanes, a chemistry instructor at CNA in Doha, said he never expected to get a day off because of sand.

"It's the first sand day I've ever had, and maybe the first for the college," he said.

"I found out before 7 a.m. from an email sent by our president. The storm started last night and visibility was so low I wasn't surprised that it was closed."

The comparison between the CNA campus communities wasn't lost on some people who took to social media to point out the stark contrast between the two areas.

Both the Doha sandstorm and the blowing snow conditions in Carbonear had passed by 9 a.m. Newfoundland time on Thursday.

While those in Qatar will now start cleaning and dusting following the sandstorm, those in Carbonear will spend the day shoveling and cautiously driving following a night of snow and freezing rain.

CNA is Newfoundland and Labrador public college with 17 campuses across the province and the technical education college in Doha, Qatar.