Offshore wind energy deployment in the US is expected to increase in the; years to come, with proposed wind farm sites located in regions with; high-risk for tropical cyclones. Yet, the wind turbine design criteria; outlined by the International Electrotechnical Commission for extreme; events may not account for the severe wind conditions in tropical; cyclones, even the weaker storms that are likely to reach mid-Atlantic; wind resource areas. To evaluate if current design standards capture the; extreme conditions of these storms, we perform idealized large-eddy; simulations of five tropical cyclones (two category-1, two category-2,; and one category-3 storms) using the Weather Research and Forecasting; model. Wind conditions near the eyewall of category-1, category-2 and; category-3 storms can exceed current design standards for offshore wind; turbines. Hub-height winds can exceed design criteria for Class I and; Class T turbines for 50-year recurrence periods. Moreover, wind speed; shear across the turbine rotor layer is larger than assumed in design; specifications. Vertical variations in wind direction across the turbine; rotor layer are also large for tropical cyclones of all intensity; levels, suggesting design standards should include veer, which can; amplify loads in wind turbines.
