Weather conditions continued to plague crop development in large parts of the nation leading up to the Memorial Day weekend, private and government meteorologists said on Friday.

Cool weather in the Corn Belt is slowing emergence of corn and soybeans, particularly in the northern and eastern parts of the region, the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility (JAWF) reported.

Cool weather also is slowing crop growth on the Plains, though recent showers have boosted soil moisture in the region. Dry conditions in the South, west of the Appalachians, are putting stress on dryland crops, JAWF said.

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Below normal temperatures, along with unsettled weather, are expected in the southern Plains, the Midwest and East, and showers will provide only local relief from developing Midwestern dryness.

One of the main areas of concern in the Midwest is Illinois, said Freese-Notis Weather on Friday. "The driest part of that state will see no more than isolated showers over the holiday weekend; anything heavier or more widespread is going to be south of I-70," Freese-Notis said in its Agriculture Online report.

Below-normal temperatures are forecast in the National Weather Service 6- 10-day outlook, June 1-5. Below-normal precipitation is predicted for the Midwestern and Northeastern states.

Farmers themselves report a wide variety of conditions, including too dry, too wet, and too cool. "Right now everyone realizes this crop is behind, and we all know it takes more heat to bring it back," a Minnesota grower told Agriculture Online. "But for some farmers, that's the last thing they want when they're already starving for moisture. And in the areas with excess moisture, it is just the opposite."

An Illinois grower said that his farm has received only a quarter inch of rain in May and six tenths in April. "We are in bad shape locally, but it is a small area that has missed everything. Have never seen it this dry in late May. Hard for us to believe that a few hundred miles away it could be wet."