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Joe Diaz Biography
Joe Diaz is an American certified, Emmy-winning broadcast meteorologist. He has been part of the Action 7 News team for more than 28 years. Originally he worked at Action 7 News from 1979 to 1989, and then returned in 1997.
Joe is recognized for his credible and confident demeanor during severe storms, viewers have relied upon him as the trusted voice of reason during times when weather can be life threatening due to tornadoes, flash flooding, blizzards, heat waves and health alerts.
Joe Diaz Age
Joe has not revealed his year, month and date of birth so his exact age is still unknown. When he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009 he was 51 years old as of 2019 he might be around 61 years old.
Joe Diaz Wife
Joe is happily married to his wife Diane. KOAT action 7 news anchor Shelly Ribando had a chance to sit down with Joe Diaz and his wife Diane, to get the scoop on how it all began. It all began at the cooperage restaurant in albuquerque in 1980. They first met on a double date, but they were with different people! that, was August 1980. The following April 1981, Joe proposed. They were in phoenix visiting Joe’s parents when he popped the question and Diane quickly learned, that marrying a guy in TV, had its challenges! and by that June 1981, they became husband and wife. In June 2014 will mark their 33rd wedding anniversary. They have two adult sons and a very spoiled dog.
Like his late father, he enjoys reading the works of Max Lucado and has a soft spot for Abuelita’s New Mexican Kitchen in Bernalillo and the South Valley. He dearly loved his father, also named Joe who died of prostate cancer. He ignored traditional medical therapies and pleas from doctors and family members to consider them. Instead, he opted for herbal supplements while his loved ones watched him get progressively worse over the course of a decade.
“The last couple of years were the worst,” says Joe. “He had pain in his back and hip and would tell me it was his sciatic nerve, but my mom said he just didn’t want to worry me and it was actually the cancer that had spread beyond the prostate into his bones.”
Joe Diaz Photo
Joe Diaz Prostate Cancer
When TV weatherman Joe Diaz was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2009, his first thoughts were of his father, who had died from the same disease in 1997 at age 73. At that moment he vowed, “I’m not going out the way my dad went out.” Joe had his prostate surgically removed in February 2009 during a 90-minute procedure. “I was in the hospital two days and back at work in two weeks. In my mind I am cancer free,” he says, though acknowledging the medical community won’t make that claim until a patient has 10 years’ worth of clean tests.
Biking, running and golfing with his sons are among his favorite ways to spend personal time, along with an occasional triathlon, are among his favorite ways to spend personal time. Some of the more grueling events he has entered include The La Luz Trail Run up Sandia Mountain and a Half-Ironman event.
Joe Diaz Meteorologist KOAT Action 7
Joe is an Emmy Award winning Action 7 News Chief Meteorologist for a full and accurate forecast for almost three decades at KOAT Action 7. He has been part of the Action 7 News team for more than 28 years. He works with Eric Green and Byron Morton who are also meteorologists at the station. Originally he worked at Action 7 News from 1979 to 1989, and then returned in 1997.
Joe has racked up a number of awards since then, including the New Mexico Broadcasters Association’s “Best Weathercast” in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011 and 2015. He also won The Associated Press “Best Weathercast” award in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Joe updates regular weather webcast to our KOAT moble app and KOAT.com.
One of his most memorable and most frightening moments as a television meteorologist came in 1989, while working for a Houston station, he was sent to cover Hurricane Hugo.
“We were broadcasting from Charleston, South Carolina, as this category-4 hurricane came on shore,” Joe says. “As we took shelter inside the lobby of the Ramada Inn, a wall caved in and destroyed our $50,000 video camera. Fortunately, no one was hurt.”
He is a member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), and is the first in New Mexico (and 68th nationwide) to be named a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist. This prestigious designation is an upgrade of Joe’s previous AMS Seal of Approval. Joe holds the seal of approval from the National Weather Association (NWA).
Joe Diaz Salary
Joe has not yet revealed the annual salary he receives from his job at KOAT Action 7.