FRANKFORT, KY (FOX19) - It may be late in the year to hear this message, considering that by this time last December we'd already had several large snows, but the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet says its maintenance crews are prepared to combat snow-covered and icy roads whenever they occur. 

Nearly 2,000 KYTC employees are standing by to treat and clear more than 60,000 lane miles of roads. 

“The safety of Kentucky’s roadways is the focal point of our maintenance program this time of year,” Transportation Cabinet Secretary Mike Hancock said.

(COVINGTON, KY) - The Emergency Management departments of Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Kentucky announced a change in the outdoor warning siren systems today.  Under this new policy the sirens will sound when a TORNADO WARNING is issued by the National Weather Serviceor a funnel cloud or tornado has been sighted by a local public safety official.  When a warning is issued the outdoor sirens will sound for five minutes.  This change will go into effect immediately.

Previously, the sirens would also sound when a Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued during a Tornado Watch.

William Turner, Emergency Management Director for Campbell County, credits advanced technology at the National Weather Service which gives people more time to take cover when a warning is issued for the change in policy.

Turner says the outdoor sirens were sounding too often under the old policy since the number of storm watch alerts has increase during the

The Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services has issued a smog alert for Thursday, July 7 for Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties in Ohio and Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Kentucky. 

HCDOES expects to see levels of particulate matter in the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" range on the Air Quality Index. 

Smog is a term used to describe air pollution that is a result of the interaction of sunlight with certain chemicals in the atmosphere. The two primary pollutants in smog are ground-level ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM).

These pollutants come from a variety of sources, including: