Fluctuation of the separation point on an airfoil under high turbulence level is investigated using pressure measurements and flow visualisations. The characteristics of the unsteady loads induced by Karman vortex shedding are studied. This is related with a local approach based on the study of the oscillation zone. A method based on the pressure standard deviation is proposed to obtain the length of this zone, which is found to be independent of the turbulence level. This result is in agreement with that obtained by spectral analysis which shows no effect of the turbulence level on the Karman vortex shedding frequency.