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Con esas nubes, la tarde está para truenos.

Con esas nubes, la tarde está para truenos.
With those clouds, the afternoon is ready for thunder.
From Lesson 312:Moods and readiness (estar para)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about Con esas nubes, la tarde está para truenos.

What exactly does está para mean in this context?
The phrase estar para followed by a noun means that conditions are perfect for something, or that there is a specific vibe or mood. While literally meaning the afternoon is for thunder, it translates best as the afternoon is ripe for thunder.
I always mix up por and para. Could I say la tarde está por truenos?
No, because estar por followed by a noun is not used this way. You can use estar por followed by an infinitive to say something is about to happen, like la tarde está por terminar (the afternoon is about to end). But to express that the environment is ready or suitable for a noun like truenos, you must use estar para.
Why is truenos plural when the English translation uses the singular thunder?
In English, thunder is uncountable. In Spanish, un trueno is a single, countable clap of thunder. When talking about a thunderstorm or the general weather condition, Spanish uses the plural truenos. You will see the same thing with lightning: relámpagos.
Can I use estar para followed by a noun to talk about my own mood?
Yes, this is very common! If you say estoy para un café, it means I am in the mood for a coffee or I could really go for a coffee right now. In this sentence, the afternoon is being playfully treated as having a mood or readiness for thunder.

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