Ethan Moriarty

Ethan Moriarty is the founder and main driving force behind June First. He is an alumni of Quinnipiac University’s School of Engineering, receiving a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Born and raised in the Western Massachusetts town of West Springfield, Ethan grew up with many passionate interests. Severe weather, of course, was one of them. As a kid, he would use the family camcorder to make videos of him giving weather reports and reporting on storms. Ethan was most fascinated by tornadoes and dreamed of one day seeing one. His dream became a reality, just not the way he expected. 

While on his way to a little league baseball game on June 1st, 2011, a supercell thunderstorm that spawned an EF3 tornado in Ethan's hometown. Travelling southbound on US Route 5, he witnessed the tornado cross the Connecticut River into downtown Springfield. The tornado would tare a 39 mile path across Western Massachusetts into Worcester County and claimed 3 lives in the process. West Springfield suffered tremendous damage, and lost 2 of its residents. Ethan saw firsthand how powerful and deadly these weather phenomenon could be. That day drove him to pursue a career in severe weather. Inspired by tornado researchers with engineering backgrounds, like Dr. Ted Fujita, Tim Samaras, and Tim Marshall, he went to school for engineering instead of meteorology, hoping to bring that unique perspective to the field.

Beyond tornadoes, he is multi-instrumentalist, ice hockey goaltender, and partakes almost any activity that connects with nature.

Connor Moriarty

Connor Moriarty is a full-time engineer for a laboratory in the Greater Boston area. He earned his BS in Aerospace Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a minor in Computer Science. He is the other half of the June First chase team. Connor always accompanied his brother throughout his life, as younger brothers do, looked up to Ethan at a young age, and was absorbed in the same things Ethan did. When the day of June 1st, 2011 came, from home, he saw the tornado touchdown on the news as a sense of fear rolled over him. It took several years, but that fear transformed into a similar curiosity and passion shared by his brother.

Connor has logged thousands of miles behind the wheel chasing nature’s most extreme weather and is now involved in building upon the earlier work of Aerial Supercell Measurement System v1.0 in a part-time capacity. He brings his specialized knowledge of aerial vehicle design and coding to the table.

Beyond June First, he is an avid gamer and is a skilled trumpet player.

Aerial Supercell Measurement System v1.0 Design Team