Storm chasers in the US have paid tribute to late actor Bill Paxton by spelling out his initials using GPS co-ordinates on a map depicting the heart of Tornado Alley.

The actor, who died on Saturday at the age of 61 after complications from surgery, played a storm chaser in the 1996 film Twister, which co-starred Helen Hunt.

A scene from Twister (PA)
A scene from Twister (PA)

On Sunday, Spotter Network’s effort saw more than 200 people spell out “BP” in GPS co-ordinate dots in a moving ode to the actor.

Most people participating did not travel, but entered co-ordinates manually to spell the letters on a map based around Wakita, Oklahoma.

The non-profit organisation’s president John Wetter said storm chasers have spelled out the initials of fellow chasers four or five times before but never a non-chaser.

In the movie, Paxton played a man who was researching tornadoes during a twister outbreak in Oklahoma.