Ethan Moriarty: Founder, Chaser, and Lead Engineer

  Ethan Moriarty is currently a Mechanical Engineer for a defense company in Western Massachusetts. He is an alumni of Quinnipiac University’s School of Engineering Class of 2021, receiving a BS in Mechanical Engineering. Born and raised in the Western Massachusetts town of West Springfield, he is one of two children of Ken and Christine Moriarty. Ethan grew up with many interests, and was passionate about every one of them, severe weather, of course, being one of them. As a kid, he would use the family camcorder to make videos of him giving weather reports and reporting on storms. He loved watching the Discovery Channel and fell in love with the series called, "Storm Chasers," which followed meteorologists that documented and studied tornadoes. Ethan was 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, the warm, humid day plus the volatile and unstable atmosphere led to the production of a supercell thunderstorm that would spawn an EF-3 tornado in Ethan's hometown of West Springfield. Travelling on Route 5 South, he witnessed the tornado cross the Connecticut River into Springfield. The tornado would tare a 39 mile path across Western Mass into Worcester County, and claimed 3 lives in the process. Ethan got his wish, but at a cost. West Springfield suffered tremendous damage, and lost 2 of its residents. It would take years for the Merrick section of West Side to recover, and Ethan saw firsthand how powerful and deadly these weather phenomenon could be.

In 2016, Ethan began storm chasing. He loved the thrill of the chase and thrived on the challenge that storm chasing posed. He chase his first ever tornado on the night of February 25th, 2017, when the first ever February Massachusetts tornado struck the small town of Conway. The tornado was unwarned, and Ethan was unknowingly very close to putting himself in the path of it. After that night, he began to improve his chasing technique, putting safety as the number one priority.

    Ethan has made it his life goal to pursue the research of tornadoes, inspired by other tornado researchers with engineering backgrounds, like Dr. Ted Fujita and Tim Samaras. Ethan’s current tornado probe development was inspired by Tim Samaras, who was the first to deploy a probe in the path of a tornado and sustain a direct hit. Ethan plans on being the next Severe Weather Engineer to help make strides in the research of tornadoes. He plans on eventually getting a Masters in Atmospheric Science, and after that a PhD specializing in Mesoscale Meteorology and Severe Weather.

    Beyond tornadoes, Ethan loves music, hockey, and the outdoors. He is multi-instrumentalist (guitar and drums are his favorites, though) and has recorded and performed his own music, and with bands. He is also a ice hockey goaltender, and loves watching the sport. Outside of those interests, he's an avid skier and loves fishing. In 2017, Ethan was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout after working hard through his seven years as a part of the Boy Scouts of America. If he's not doing any of those wide range of passions, he loves being with friends or working on his 1997 Jeep Wrangler.

Connor Moriarty: Chaser and Engineer

    Connor Moriarty is currently a junior Aerospace Engineering Major at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is the main driver of June First and he brings the June First team to the center of the action. 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, he saw the tornado touchdown on the news as a sense of fear rolled over him. When he first saw the damage from that tornado in his hometown of West Springfield, he witnessed first-hand the devastation that a tornado can bring.

   Connor has logged thousands of miles behind the wheel chasing nature’s most extreme weather. He is now getting involved on the next design of the Aerial Supercell Measurement System, bringing his specialized knowledge of aerial vehicle design to the table. Connor is a stellar student, ranking amount the highest of his high school graduating class. He has aspirations of engineering and inventing, hoping one day to work at NASA. He is also an avid gamer too, and he also is a skilled trumpet player.

Aerial Supercell Measurement System v1.0 Design Team