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Longtime KOAT meteorologist set to retire after four decades
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After four decades of weather reporting and forecasting, KOAT Action 7 News Chief Meteorologist Joe Diaz is hanging up his clicker and stepping away from the green screen in exchange for retired life.
Diaz will bring his 46-year career — 38 of which were spent with KOAT — to a close at the end of May, Hearst Television wrote in a news release.
“I’m incredibly grateful to our loyal viewers, for the trust and support they’ve shown me through the decades,” Diaz said in a statement. “I’ve covered this state and its people with unique storytelling and making families safer with critical weather forecasting.”
Diaz added, “I also owe deep gratitude to KOAT and Hearst Television for allowing me to serve this community I cherish so dearly.”
Diaz, who’s 67, joined KOAT as a general assignment reporter in 1979 and later became a meteorologist, succeeding veteran weatherman Howard Morgan as chief meteorologist in 1997. Diaz received numerous Emmy Awards and other honors throughout his career, including an induction into the New Mexico Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame last year.
According to the news release, Diaz’s work helped garner recognition from WeatheRate, a weather forecast verification company that named the KOAT weather team as New Mexico’s most accurate weather source for eight years in a row.
“Joe Diaz is truly an institution in New Mexico broadcasting,” Lori Waldon, president and general manager for KOAT 7, said in a statement. “His profound expertise, passion and unwavering professionalism have set the gold standard in weather forecasting.
“While it is bittersweet to see him leave, we are grateful for the nearly 40 years of unparalleled service that have defined his incredible career.”
