The storm continued to move briskly and was not expected to linger in the Northeast. Mr. Otto said he expected the worst to move past New York City, where only two or three inches were forecast, by Sunday morning. In New England, the storm was expected to pass by Sunday night.

As with any storm, National Weather Service offices across the country were busy providing detailed forecasts and updates. But this time their meteorologists were doing it without pay, a casualty of the federal government shutdown.

“There’s definitely a drain on morale,” said Ray Martin, a senior meteorologist in the Weather Service office serving Washington and Baltimore. He said he knew colleagues with young children or a new house who were struggling. “There’s a little bit of not feeling appreciated,” he added.

Though the snowstorm was not exactly surprising — it is January, after all — its impact has proved frightening, especially on transportation.

A United Airlines plane slid off a concrete surface at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago on Saturday, while the plane was turning off a runway. Airline officials said no injuries were reported.

The night before, at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, a Southwest Airlines plane slid off the runway after landing. After a bumpy descent, the plane seemed to be coming in sideways just before touching down, said Benny Salz, a passenger on the flight. It hit the ground hard, fishtailed and slid into the grass just off the runway, said Mr. Salz, 30, a music producer and singer who lives in Los Angeles.

“People were definitely freaked out when we landed,” he said.