Will northern lights shine in Nashville and Middle Tennessee again on Sunday night?

Maybe, maybe not is the forecast for another viewing of the spectacular northern lights on Sunday night in Middle Tennessee, according to the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

The ingredients and geomagnetic activity that can bring the sight of the aurora borealis to southern portions of the United States is expected Sunday, which is a good sign.

But how far south the northern lights may be visible wasn't immediately forecast, and the impact of cloudy skies in Middle Tennessee is another factor.

"Today into tonight the next series of very fast-moving Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) are expected to slam into Earth’s magnetic field and cause severe to extreme geomagnetic storms," said Storm Weather Prediction Center Director Clinton Wallace in a statement. “During periods of stronger geomagnetic storm conditions, the aurora will be more widespread and seen at lower latitudes,”

The Storm Weather Prediction Center provides a 30- to 90-minute forecast of the location and intensity of the aurora.

"Space weather is highly variable, and the forecast for the aurora does not go far enough into the future to provide conditions for tonight," Storm Weather Prediction Center spokesperson Erica Grow Cei said.

Aurora borealis in Tennessee? Northern lights could be visible this weekend. Here's why

The National Weather Service's Nashville office forecasts mostly cloudy conditions Sunday night for Middle Tennessee. Skies are forecast to become increasingly overcast around midnight and later, which also could affect viewing of the northern lights if ingredients are ripe to bring a repeat viewing, meteorologist Mark Rose said.

The Nashville weather service office had a number of reports from people who viewed the northern lights on Friday night, Rose said.

Visibility of the northern lights this far south was possible due to a series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun that were forecast to reach the Earth early this weekend and produce the geomagnetic storms that trigger auroras, according to a previous report by The Tennessean.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Will northern lights be visible in Nashville Sunday? What to know