What Would Happen To North Dakota If Yellowstone Erupted?

As long as I can remember, there's been talk about Yellowstone erupting.

Being within fairly close proximity to North Dakota, this is certainly alarming for North Dakota.  With the way the Jetstream works, we would no doubt be affected greatly in the Peace Garden State.

Even in the movie 2012, Yellowstone erupted and it was the beginning of Armageddon.

If Yellowstone does erupt, what is likely to follow?

According to Real Clear Science, the effects could be catastrophic for a good share of the United States.  As North Dakota is a border state with Montana, we would likely see a lot of devastation.

First, we would see a swarm of intense earthquakes with eruptions to follow that would discharge toxic ash into the air.  This would continue for days, burying Yellowstone in lava for a 40-mile radius.

Then, the ash, lava, and volcanic gasses would be blowing across much of North America, including all of North Dakota.  It would darken the skies and eventually, we would have several inches of ash on the ground in North Dakota.  It would look like "black" snow.

Hospitals would be crowded with victims coughing up blood as ash could slash their lungs.  The ash would also contaminate water supplies, down power lines, and prevent air travel.  The Nation's power grid could be greatly affected.

The ash would likely wipe out any crops North Dakota was growing at the time.

Much of our farmland would be poisoned for generations.  This could cause global starvation.

The weather would also be affected.  Temps could plunge as much as 18 degrees for a decade causing what is known as a "global volcanic winter".

How likely is it that Yellowstone could erupt in our lifetime?

The good news is that in any given year the USGS estimates we have a 1 in 730,000 chance of a Yellowstone eruption (still better odds than winning The Power Ball).

Is there anything that can be done to prevent this disaster from happening?

According to the article, there's been a discussion at NASA about drilling into Yellowstone and dumping cool water into the system.  The problem, the cost would be around 3.5 billion.

2012 video courtesy of Movieclips YouTube Channel.