Unsettled weather is expected to burden the start of the school holidays as a complex low and frontal band bring periods of rain to the Bay of Plenty.

The occasional drizzle is predicted tomorrow, with the MetService forecasting the drizzle to become more persistent later in the evening.

The Bay looks set to miss most of the bad weather forecast for the rest of the country this weekend.

Rain and heavy falls are expected on Sunday morning before easing later in the afternoon.

While the Bay looks set to miss most of the bad weather, other regions around the country are not so fortunate.

'Heavy falls are expected in some areas, with significant snow likely on the ranges of North Canterbury and Marlborough,” says meteorologist Elke Louw.

'Also strong to gale southeast winds can be expected about the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and Buller early Sunday.”

Daily highs for the weekend look set to stay around 18 or 19 degrees in Tauranga, with overnight lows of 9-12 degrees.