The local meteorologist is forever watching the SF skies and flying high.
Bay Area meterologist and California Army National Guard member Jessica Burch
Jessica Burch (@jessica.burch) began working on her private pilot’s license at 15, and she’s been seeing the world from a different perspective ever since. The KPIX-TV SF (cbsnews.com) meteorologist, who was commissioned as an Army officer in 2019 after an ROTC stint as a meteorology student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, is now a first lieutenant in the California Army National Guard who flies Blackhawk helicopters in a MEDEVAC unit. She says her two passions—weather and flying—fit together perfectly. Don’t miss her IG feed for the beautiful juxtaposition. Here, Burch dishes on her amazing days on the air and in the skies around the Bay Area.
BREAKFAST: Protein shake before the morning shows and fruit throughout the commercial breaks!
WAKE-UP TIME: 2:45 a.m. DIET: Plant-based as much as possible
DOPPELGANGER: Vanessa Kirby
FAVORITE AIRCRAFT: B2 Bomber to see, UH- 60 Blackhawk to fly
FAVORITE PLACE TO FLY: Napa Valley or Half Moon Bay
ESCAPE: Renting a plane out of Napa airport, flying around the Bay, and finishing the day back in Napa for a wine tasting
WEAKNESS: Talking aviation
NEMESIS: My alarm clock
UNIFORM: Either a dress for the news or a flight suit
FAVE HOTEL: Cavallo Point (cavallopoint.com)
WORKOUT: Training for a half marathon and hot yoga
FAVORITE MEAL: Xiao long bao (especially when I lived in Shanghai) or pesto-baked pasta
MOVIE:Always Be My Maybe
MENTORS: Tom Sorrells, chief meteorologist; Army Captain Iveth Watts
SHOES: On Clouds
PET: Chopper, my black lab
BEST ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED: All of us can take a lesson from the weather; it pays no attention to criticism.
FAVORITE PHILANTHROPY: JFCS of San Francisco (jfcs.org)
MANTRA: Knowledge wants to talk; wisdom wants to listen.
SINGER: Hozier
TV SHOW:Black Mirror
APP: Instagram
CAR: Wishing I could say Porsche 911
COCKTAIL: Amaretto sour
DINNER: Baia in SF (baiasf.com)
BEDTIME: 7 p.m. is the goal; 9 p.m. is the reality
BOOK AT BEDSIDE:The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down by Haemin Sunim
THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE:“I Ain’t Worried” by One-Republic
WEEKEND BAG: A flight bag full of snacks and headsets to share with my friends on our day trip in the sky
LOCAL HAUNT: Equator Coffees (equatorcoffees.com)
3 DESERT ISLAND ESSENTIALS: A helicopter, a library full of history books and an easel with painting supplies
Photography by: BILLY POON
