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Writing off a tropical cyclone simply because it has moved inland is one of the big mistakes people do. Sure, most of the time things go as expected. But sometimes, and not all that infrequently, really, inland TCs at the very least unleash all of their rainfall potential over a very concentrated area by a process which results in core rains. At other times, although pretty rare, they can even intensify over land, as Fay did. In either case, the results can be exceptional, and catch many people who let their guard down, totally off guard.
This is exactly what happened in Polk County Florida for Hurricane Charlie. My parents live there and the forcast was for it to only have 60mph wind by the time it reached them (just north of Lake Wales). I had called them as the storm turned towards them and mom repeated the prediction and said not to worry becuase it would be so weak by the time it got to them. They really didn't prepare at all for the 125mph winds that came across the lake at them and nearly destroyed their house. Same story all the way to Orlando and just east. NHC needs to get a better handle on this phenomenon to adequately warn folks and not give them a false sense of security just because the storm is INLAND.
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Re: Inland Intensification of Tropical Cyclones