This paper shows how a definitive part of the commonly used Mann (1994) atmospheric turbulence model (its so-called eddy lifetime) implies that the model parameters can be directly related to typical measurements in wind energy projects. Most importantly, the characteristic turbulence length scale is found in terms of commonly measured (10 min mean) quantities (shear and standard deviation of wind speed); this estimator is found to give useful results, over different sites and flow regimes.