On the Circle Optics’ 360° Pulse Podcast, the team recently welcomed Don Berchoff, CEO of TruWeather Solutions, as a guest. With over 40 years of experience in the weather and aviation industries, Don brought a wealth of knowledge to the conversation. His impressive career includes 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he played a key role in refining weather operations, leveraging emerging technologies, and applying weather risk management principles to improve mission readiness and efficiency.
In addition to his military service, Don directed science and technology projects at the National Weather Service, where he led multidisciplinary teams of scientists, data experts, and engineers. Now at TruWeather, he has pioneered the development of a cutting-edge Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform designed to enhance weather analytics for the growing drone and air taxi industries.
Berchoff is also shaping new international aviation weather standards and advocates for a collaborative approach to solving micro-weather challenges. His leadership is defined by his commitment to integrity and his passion for turning strategic visions into actionable outcomes.
Below you are some highlights and links to the program.
From Combat to Climate
Looking back, I feel incredibly fortunate to have had a career path that took me from a childhood fascination with weather to a 24-year career in the U.S. Air Force. I didn’t plan it that way, but it worked out beyond my expectations. When I was seven years old, I already knew I wanted to be a meteorologist. By the time I reached college, I had my “10,000 hours” in, as Malcolm Gladwell would say.
After college, I faced a roadblock: a hiring freeze in the National Weather Service. So, I turned to the Air Force, thinking I’d serve for just four years. But what I found was a place where weather truly mattered—where forecasts weren’t just numbers on a page but were mission-critical data. In the military, people’s lives depend on accurate weather assessments, and that experience shaped how I view the intersection of weather and operations. One of the biggest lessons I learned is that weather forecasting is as much an art as it is a science.
In 2000, I applied those principles to help Air Mobility Command reduce mission delays from 5,000 to 1,800 per year—saving $200 million in the process. This wasn’t just about improving weather data; it was about educating decision-makers how to use the data effectively. That experience was pivotal for me and laid the groundwork for how I approach weather challenges today.
Applying the “Art of Weather” to Real-World Problems
One of the terms I’ve coined throughout my career is the “art of weather.” It’s the idea that weather forecasting isn’t just about the science or data we have at hand—it’s about experience, intuition, and recognizing patterns that the numbers can’t always show. We have significant gaps in data, especially in the lower atmosphere, below 5,000 feet. For instance, we’re not measuring wind above ground level or cloud height across 97% of landmasses.
In the military, I honed my ability to fill those gaps with intuition and foresight. I recall one colonel telling me, “Don, you have such an imagination,” because I was predicting weather patterns that the models weren’t showing. But that’s the essence of the art—knowing what’s going to happen even when the data says otherwise. It’s this combination of skill and experience that allowed me to anticipate weather events, like when we kept Manas Air Base operational despite a major snowstorm that would’ve grounded most airports.
What Risk Management in Weather Teaches Us About Business
One of the biggest lessons I took from my military career into the private sector is the importance of risk management. Everything we do in business involves trade-offs, and it’s rarely a black-and-white decision. As an entrepreneur, you’re constantly balancing risks and assessing shades of gray. I often find myself having to make decisions where there isn’t a clear right or wrong answer, but instead, you have to weigh all the variables and outcomes.
In the same way that forecasting involves probabilities and uncertainties, running a business is about managing risk with the data you have, while trusting your instincts for the rest. At TruWeather Solutions, we apply these principles to every decision we make. I often think about my time in the Air Force, where we operated in high-stakes environments and played a lot of cat-and-mouse games with the unknown. Those experiences shaped how I approach risk today.
Building TruWeather Solutions: Innovation and Corporate Culture
When I founded TruWeather Solutions in 2015, my goal was simple: unlock the power of science and technology that was stuck in labs and apply it to real-world problems, particularly in the commercial sector. At TruWeather, we’ve developed a highly innovative, software-as-a-service platform that enhances weather analytics for the emerging drone and air taxi industries.
We built the system with open architecture from the ground up, which allows us to integrate multiple data sources and customize weather predictions for specific mission types. One of the key innovations we offer is the ability to plug in sensors without heavy costs or complex coding, which fills critical data gaps in real time. We’ve taken a military mindset and applied it to commercial technology, focusing on operational needs and advanced analytics.
Building a strong corporate culture is just as important to me as the technology we’re creating. Every day, I ask myself, “Did I do anything today to disrupt the culture I’m trying to build?” Maintaining that culture, even during challenging times, is essential for long-term success. It’s not just about running a business efficiently; it’s about making sure our values and vision guide every decision we make.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Weather Technology
As TruWeather continues to grow, I’m excited about the future of weather technology, especially for the drone and air taxi industries. One of the most significant changes we’ve helped bring about with the FAA is a new ASTM weather standard. After four years of collaboration, this new framework allows third-party weather providers to use lower-cost sensors and contribute to aviation weather data. This is going to revolutionize how we collect and use weather data, especially for unmanned vehicles.
Looking ahead, there’s no single solution that will solve all weather problems, but we’re making incredible strides in closing the gaps. People often talk about machine learning and AI as magic bullets, but the reality is, those tools are only as good as the data they’re trained on. We need better, more granular data—especially for micro-weather events.
There are technologies on the horizon that will blow people’s minds, and we’re working hard to bring those innovations to market. We need the weather data to match the last mile of drone delivery, and that’s what we’re focused on. The future is bright, and I’m having the time of my life helping to shape it.
