The Great Plains became the site of an even greater tribute to the late Bill Paxton -- an actor who spurred the thrill of the chase for many professional storm chasers and amateurs alike.
Paxton's initials, "BP," dotted this region Sunday, Feb. 26, in Tornado Alley to honor the "Twister" actor. He died at age 61 due to complications from surgery.
About 200 storm chasers using GPS coordinates, whether on the road or manually elsewhere in the country, helped to light up the map, according to the Associated Press.
Through call outs coordinated by the Spotter Network, users entered their coordinates to pin a dot on the map. The initials largely were centered upon Wakita, Okla., a town featured in the disaster movie.
"I waited until all the letters lined up," Jake DeFlitch told the AP. He recently dropped radar-equipped pods in front of tornadoes as part of a research project. "I was part of the 'P,' right below one of the connections, where the half-circle came back and connected with the straight line."
Here are a few tweets showing the tribute throughout the day:
Bill Paxton in TWISTER inspired a whole generation of storm chasers. Today they paid tribute to him. pic.twitter.com/yW7RxJHV2F
— Jim Beaver (@jumblejim) February 26, 2017
Storm chasers and spotters around the world unite to create a virtual tribute to the late Bill Paxton.#BillPaxtonRIP #twister pic.twitter.com/j73l4gvpBZ
— Daniel Shaw (@DanielShawAU) February 26, 2017
That is a cool tribute! https://t.co/nat3K38hXM
— Greg Cochran (@Greg_Cochran) February 27, 2017