At GRIT Athletics, Noble has access to a 28-by-76-foot sheet of synthetic ice and no longer sees the surface as substandard. “The glide has probably come the farthest,” he says.

Hollywood would have you believe that tornadoes are prevalent in the Midwest. We’re much more likely to see hail in the springtime—balls of slushy ice that pelt our roofs and dimple our cars.… ...