bill paxton
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Storm Chasers Created a GPS Tribute to Bill Paxton in Tornado Alley

A team of nearly 200 storm chasers created a unique tribute to actor Bill Paxton, who sadly passed away over the weekend at age 61.

Paxton's first leading film role was as a storm chaser in the 1997 blockbuster Twister. His portrayal of a meterologist who risked everything to study tornadoes inspired a generation of young people to study weather.

On Sunday, storm chasers inspired by Paxton coordinated an effort to honor the late actor. The Associated Press reports that the Spotter Network entered GPS coordinates into a digital map of Tornado Alley to spell out Paxton's initials, "BP."

Participants input the GPS coordinates remotely rather than visit each destination in person. On the map, the dots covered a wide swath of Oklahoma, and stretched into parts of Kansas and North Texas.

Twitter/Arlington Scanner

Twitter/Arlington Scanner

Storm chasers have done this kind of tribute for notable figures in their community. However, they've never done it for someone who wasn't actually a storm chaser.

On Sunday, Paxton's family announced that he died after complications from surgery. The prolific actor starred in several films, most notbably Twister and Aliens. Paxton grew up in Fort Worth, Texas.

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