Storm Chasers Take to the Sky in Moving Tribute to Late Actor Bill Paxton
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A moving tribute in the sky was paid to the late actor Bill Paxton by nearly 200 storm chasers who were inspired many years ago with his depiction as one of them — portraying TV weatherman and storm chaser Bill Harding in the 1996 film Twister.
On the day of the Oscars — February 26 — when celebrities are recognized for their acting achievements, Paxton was celebrated as his initials “BP” were spelled out using GPS coordinates on a map depicting the heart of “Tornado Alley.”
The tremendous undertaking was coordinated by Spotter Network — which brings storm spotters, storm chasers, coordinators and public servants together to provide accurate position data of spotters and chasers for coordination and reporting. It was also organized by Daniel Shaw, a storm spotter, storm chaser and National News Director at Severe Weather based in Sydney, Australia.
“He knew his weather. Coming from Ft. Worth, Texas where there are some severe weather systems, he came into the film (Twister) knowing his meteorology,” Shaw told Your Daily Dish. “He had a passion for weather, and because of that I think this was his favorite role. He loved what he did. He wasn’t just an actor, he was one of the weather community. He might not have been as much of a nerd as all of us, but he did love weather so it seemed a fitting tribute and more than justified.”
Storm chaser John Wetter, who works with the National Weather Service to update weather forecasts echoed how Twister made meteorologists cool, “If only for a little while.”
He told the Associated Press, “There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of meteorologists today — myself included — who were impacted by the movie Twister and the role Bill played in that.”
The epicenter of the coordinates for the tribute fell on Wakita, Oklahoma where Twister was filmed.
According to movie legend, “The town had part of its old downtown area demolished by the film crew for the scenes after the twister passes. The studio then paid for the downtown to be rebuilt. The town also kept the new fire truck used in the film.”
As the day went on, the letters “BP” took shape in real time on a map that went viral on Shaw’s Twitter account. The initials, made of red dots, stretched across parts of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma on a black map.
In the first post, Shaw tweeted, “Spotter Network tribute being arranged in memory of Bill Paxton. Here is the template #billpaxton #twister @spotternetwork”
Spotter Network tribute being arranged in memory of Bill Paxton. Here is the template #billpaxton #twister @spotternetwork pic.twitter.com/rRfmcsETiY
— Daniel Shaw (@DanielShawAU) February 26, 2017
The next post, which shows the letters begin to take form, received 1,000 retweets and over 1,000 likes.
Shaw tweeted, “Storm chasers and spotters around the world unite to create a virtual tribute to the late Bill Paxton.#BillPaxtonRIP #twister”
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
In memory of Bill Paxton and the film that put him on the storm chaser map, here is the trailer:
