Get ready for awesome - or maybe awesome with an asterisk. A vacation-themed website has declared Monday will be the "most perfect day of the year" in Georgia and Alabama. Tennessee's similar superlative will come a week later, on July 25.
Making the claim is FamilyDestinationsGuide.com, which has created an interactive map to give travelers an idea of when to vacation as each state experiences its "best weather day" of 2022.
"No one wants a vacation spoiled by rain and gloomy skies," Rose Ackermann, the site's editor, said in a news release. "We hope our research gives people across the country the best chance of getting great weather when going on their vacations."
(READ MORE: Chattanooga summer begins with high temperatures but a lower heat index than last week)
The dates for each state were determined by an analysis of 36 years' worth of weather data, according to Ackermann. Factors included the date with the most predicted sunshine and the date with the best temperature (78 degrees). Those numbers were averaged with the date of this year's summer solstice, June 21.
In Georgia and Alabama, the result was the same, July 18, but the variables differed. In Georgia: June 6 for the most predicted sunshine, Sept. 26 for the best temperature. In Alabama: May 20 for most predicted sunshine, Oct. 12 for the best temperature.
The dates used for Tennessee were June 22 for the most predicted sunshine and Sept. 30 for the best temperature. Averaging those dates with the longest day of the year pinpointed July 25 as the day Tennessee residents should all take a vacation.
(READ MORE: In the last five years, Chattanooga weather has been a roller coaster ride of extremes)
Perfection detection is not without its faults. Thirty-six years of historical data doesn't take into account a short-range forecast or the microclimate differences across an entire state.
In Sunday's seven-day forecast, the Local 3 meteorologists at WRCB-TV were predicting a 60% chance of scattered thunderstorms Monday in the tri-state area around Chattanooga, compared to a 30% chance the day before and after.
A 'perfect day' playlist
- "Good Day Sunshine," The Beatles - "Soak Up the Sun," Sheryl Crow - "Lovely Day," Bill Withers - "Chasing the Sun," The Wanted - "Walking on Sunshine," Katrina and the Waves - "Sunshine Song," Jason Mraz - "Pontoon," Little Big Town - "Put Your Records On," Corinne Bailey Rae - "Feeling Good," Nina Simone - "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem," Kenny Chesney
Tim Doyle, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in Morristown, Tennessee, said he finds it odd that a "perfect day" would fall in July.
"That's usually when we have our hottest weather," he said by phone. "It's 90-plus (degrees) there in Chattanooga most of the time this time of year."
Plus, it's hard to make such sweeping predictions for a whole state, he added, noting there can be a 10-degree difference in temperature "from one end of Tennessee to another."
Lower West Tennessee, for instance, draws in subtropical heat and humidity from the Gulf of Mexico, while cities in upper East Tennessee are in the naturally cooler mountains.
"It's almost always hotter in Memphis in the summer than it is in the Tri-Cities," he said.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga is seeing record-breaking heat)
Doyle said the website's predictions are obviously meant to be more fun than meaningful.
"Some people would think July is too hot every year," he said. "They'd rather have a spring day or sometime in the fall."
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.