Bill Paxton Gets Massive Tornado Alley Tribute From Storm Chasers

Actor Bill Paxton (Titanic, Aliens) reportedly died Sunday at age 61. In honor of the Twister actor, storm chasers grabbed their gear and presumably hopped into a beat-up pickup to pay tribute by writing his initials across Oklahoma and Kansas via GPS. 

The storm chasers used the Spotter Network to write "BP" across what is known as "Tornado Alley." Twister, which was the second-highest grossing film of 1996 behind Independence Day, was a rare film featuring a meteorologist as the protagonist. The film even inspired a storm chasing trend (some of which maybe just wanted to see cows fly).

But it wasn't just a role. Growing up in Texas, Paxton had a genuine interest tornadoes and often talked about it. He also lent his voice to the 2011 IMAX documentary Tornado Alley. 

Those efforts clearly had an impact on the people out in the field, tracking storms and doing the work. They coordinated in Facebook groups to put the tribute together after news of Paxton's death broke.

OK. Not everyone went full Twister and jumped in a pickup. Some probably have cars. Some admitted to adjusting their GPS location digitally. Nonetheless, it's a fitting and fantastic tribute.

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