Wind farms are being developed in areas prone to tropical cyclones. However, it remains unclear whether turbulence models in current design standards, such as the Mann uniform shear model, are suitable for these conditions. For the first time, the Mann model is assessed in depth using high-frequency measurements from four typhoons. Larger-than-predicted spectral energy is found at small wavenumbers in the outer cyclone and, in some cases, in the crosswind component in the inner cyclone.