A powerful new winter storm is set to unleash a dangerous mix of ice, heavy rain, and destructive winds across more than two dozen states late this weekend, threatening to turn post-holiday travel into a nightmare.

Officials in Los Angeles and surrounding counties warned that the giant holiday storm could trigger "widespread flash flooding."

The potential for flooding remains high because parts of the ground remain heavily saturated. Weather officials warn that rainfall will quickly turn into runoff.

The rain is expected to start Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and continue “off and on” through the weekend.

Forecasters measured 4.52 inches of rain at the Santa Barbara Airport on Christmas, beating the previous record of 2.17 inches set in 1955.

Evacuation warnings and orders are in place for Los Angeles County ahead of the storm, the recent burn areas like the Palisades and Eaton fire zones.

A slow-moving storm is expected to dump another inch or more of rain on an already saturated Southern California on Friday. The heaviest rain is forecast during the morning hours as the first of two systems moves slowly over the region,

Whiteout conditions are slamming the Midwest, causing blizzard warnings and wind gusts up to 50 mph. As the storm heads across the country, parts of the Northeast are preparing for icy conditions.