This is a photo that made the national news. A cluster of vehicles in the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 20 stopped traffic two miles west of Interstate 35 in Hamilton County Wednesday, just one result of the mean blizzard that hit this part of Iowa. There's nothing like a visual to underscore the reasons we need to say thank you. — Photo courtesy of the Iowa State Patrol

On behalf of everyone who looked out their windows Wednesday, sincerely grateful they did not have to go outside, thank you to everyone who did.

You know who you are: Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputies, Webster City Police officers, the line crews, street crews, and all emergency workers.

The dispatchers who fielded the calls.

The people who made sure your home was heated.

Am I missing someone?

If you were out in that mess and helping, thank you.

More than two dozen storm-related calls were fielded by Webster City Police during the blizzard.

A transformer blew.

Tree limbs fell.

Vehicles got stuck.

The metal siding on a downtown building blew off.

It was a mess.

In the county, where the danger of being caught in the blizzard was even more hazardous, the wind was still creating havoc Wednesday afternoon.

Hamilton County Sheriff Alex Pruismann said his office managed 132 911 calls and handled 92 disabled vehicles in the 24-hour period that will probably go down in local history.

When he had time to finally catch his breath, he thanked his deputies — Ryan Rupiper, Rod Hicok, Wyatt Opperman, Zayne Mikita — who were up all night. He thanked his day deputies as well. He thanked the Iowa Department of Transportation road crews and the Iowa State Patrol.

“This storm impacted citizens, major roadways, electricity, and many other things I just can’t fathom,” he said Thursday.

“We worked as a team with all of law enforcement, including the State Patrol, Department of Transportation, Webster City PD, as well as Van Diest Medical Center, county and state road crews, area ambulance services, electrical line crews, and every citizen who stopped to just offer a hand. It was a team effort and I’d say Hamilton County won.”

That’s blizzard: 0.

Hamilton County: 1.